Vitality Health Incentives for Physical Activity - Full Text View

Purpose

The aim of the study is to prospectively compare the effectiveness of diverse incentives on physical activity behaviour, in a cohort of newly-enrolled, adult members of the Vitality health promotion programme based in South Africa.

Condition	Intervention	Phase
Obesity	Behavioral: Discovery Vitality base program Behavioral: Communication Behavioral: Charitable Incentive Behavioral: Prize Draw Incentive Behavioral: Direct Payment Behavioral: Free Choice	Phase 3

Study Type:	Interventional
Study Design:	Allocation: Randomized Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment Masking: Open Label Primary Purpose: Prevention
Official Title:	A Prospective, Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing the Effectiveness of Different Types of Incentives in Increasing Physical Activity Behavior on the Vitality Health Promotion Programme

Resource links provided by NLM:

MedlinePlus related topics: Obesity

U.S. FDA Resources

Further study details as provided by University of Pennsylvania:

Primary Outcome Measures:

Engagement in physical activity [ Time Frame: 6 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
Levels of engagement in fitness related activities as measured by 1) continuous measure of Vitality fitness program points accrued, and 2) frequency count or proportion of members by fitness level groups

Secondary Outcome Measures:

Fitness points earned [ Time Frame: 6 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
The standard Vitality program offers members the ability to accumulate points for physical activity behavior through various means.
Gym visits [ Time Frame: 6 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
Average number of gym visits over the six month period will be measured.

Estimated Enrollment:	9000
Study Start Date:	May 2010
Estimated Study Completion Date:	June 2012
Primary Completion Date:	August 2011 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)

Arms	Assigned Interventions
Active Comparator: A These members will be offered no additional incentives	Behavioral: Discovery Vitality base program The existing Discovery Vitality health promotion base program, which offers points for various levels of physical activity.
Experimental: B These members will receive regular communications by Discovery Vitality.	Behavioral: Discovery Vitality base program The existing Discovery Vitality health promotion base program, which offers points for various levels of physical activity. Behavioral: Communication Participants will be sent regular communications by Discovery Vitality -equivalent to the level of communications in the other incentive groups - which will provide information and tips about ways of accumulating Vitality points on the existing programme (concerning fitness-related activities, in particular).
Experimental: C These members will nominate a charity which will benefit financially based on participants' level of physical activity.	Behavioral: Discovery Vitality base program The existing Discovery Vitality health promotion base program, which offers points for various levels of physical activity. Behavioral: Charitable Incentive Members will be asked to nominate a charity, from a selection of charities, which will benefit financially (Discovery Vitality will make a direct payment to a nominated charity) based on their (member's) level of participation in points-earning physical activity. Individuals will receive one of four possible payouts, corresponding to their level of engagement, for their selected charity (amounts given below). In addition, members will be sent regular updates of activities by their nominated charities (This will be operationalised and facilitated by Vitality- and as such, no direct mailing from nominated charity will take place, to maintain confidentiality.)
Experimental: D These members are entered into a prize draw for a monthly cash prize if they achieve physical activity targets.	Behavioral: Discovery Vitality base program The existing Discovery Vitality health promotion base program, which offers points for various levels of physical activity. Behavioral: Prize Draw Incentive Members will be entered into a prize draw for a monthly cash-prize if they achieve physical activity targets. Four lottery payouts, corresponding to their levels of engagement, will be made on a monthly basis. All members will be sent information regarding the winnings of those that are drawn (unlinked to personal identifiers, but to motivate).
Experimental: E These members will receive a direct payment.	Behavioral: Discovery Vitality base program The existing Discovery Vitality health promotion base program, which offers points for various levels of physical activity. Behavioral: Direct Payment Members will receive a direct payment (in the form of gift voucher) of one of four possible amounts depending on the level of participation in fitness-related activities equivalent in expected value to the payouts in arms 3 and 4.
Experimental: F These members will be offered the opportunity to choose one of three incentive options at the time of enrollment in the study.	Behavioral: Discovery Vitality base program The existing Discovery Vitality health promotion base program, which offers points for various levels of physical activity. Behavioral: Free Choice Members will be asked to choose one of the three aforementioned incentive options on enrollment to the study.

Detailed Description:

Newly enrolled adult members of the Discovery Health medical plan who have, themselves, prospectively registered for the Vitality health promotion programme will be eligible for the study, and will be invited to participate by Discovery Vitality. A final sample of 9000 adult members, who are recruited and have agreed to participate, will be randomly allocated by Discovery Vitality (with replacement) to one of six study (incentive) groups (n=1500 per group) and followed for six months.

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:	18 Years and older
Genders Eligible for Study:	Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:	No

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

18 years of age or older
enrolled in Vitality

Exclusion Criteria:

under 18 years of age

Contacts and Locations

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01277367

Locations

United States, Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213
South Africa
University of Cape Town
Cape Town, South Africa
Discovery Vitality
Johannesburg, South Africa

Sponsors and Collaborators

University of Pennsylvania

Investigators

Study Chair:

Deepak Patel, MD

Discovery Holdings, LTD

More Information

No publications provided

Responsible Party:	University of Pennsylvania
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT01277367 History of Changes
Other Study ID Numbers:	811570
Study First Received:	January 12, 2011
Last Updated:	January 10, 2012
Health Authority:	United States: Institutional Review Board South Africa: Human Research Ethics Committee

Keywords provided by University of Pennsylvania:

Obesity
Sedentary
Physical activity
exercise
incentives

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Obesity
Overnutrition
Nutrition Disorders

Overweight
Body Weight
Signs and Symptoms

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on May 16, 2013