mActive: A Blinded, Randomized mHealth Activity Trial

Johns Hopkins University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Physical Activity

Treatments: Device: Digital Activity Tracker; Other: Smart Text Messaging

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01917812

NA_00086400

Details and patient eligibility

About

Despite their importance, health-related behaviors are hard to change. Among behaviors, physical activity is associated with protection from multiple diseases. People who are physically active have lower risk for heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression, and some cancers with associated dose-dependent reductions in cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. However, most US adults do not meet CDC physical activity guidelines. Sedentary work behavior in industrialized nations is likely a contributor to this problem.

Current low-technology strategies for encouraging lifestyle change are disappointingly ineffective and are highly resource intensive. Systematic reviews of the literature show mixed evidence for using activity trackers (i.e., pedometers) and a limited body of evidence for text messaging in preventive health care. However, prior studies have not integrated digital activity tracking with mobile phone text messaging feedback.

Given 91% of adults in the United States now use a mobile phone, and 56% a smartphone, this represents a potentially widely applicable avenue for therapeutic intervention. There is growing interest in leveraging mobile health (mHealth) technologies to improve health behaviors in the general population. The investigators propose to conduct a blinded, randomized mHealth trial of digital activity tracking and smart texting to promote physical activity.

Full description

Using an innovative, convenient, mHealth trial design, this pilot study aims to test the feasibility of a seamless model of information flow integrating digital activity tracker information with a mobile phone texting system to deliver a technology-enhanced intervention that does not require in-person follow-up.

The investigators hypothesize that:

1. individuals overestimate their physical activity, especially that done at work.
2. biofeedback from an activity tracker can increase physical activity via increasing self-awareness.
3. "smart" text message feedback can increase physical activity via personalizing health coaching.

Digitalized activity tracking will use the Fitbug Orb, which syncs via Bluetooth with one's smartphone. It is a display-free triaxial accelerometer, allowing one to blind participants to numeric feedback. Text messaging will use Reify Health's "smart" platform for personalized, interactive texting by an automated and repeatable algorithm. Texting will be informed by real-time activity information.

Potential advantages of the trial strategy include elimination of attendance at in-person sessions, personalization of health coaching, more continuous patient contact; inexpensive intervention, the ultimate ability to scale our intervention to larger target populations.

After initial pilot trial completion, additional study will include long-term physical activity follow-up of participants and focus groups.

Enrollment: 48 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 69 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Presenting to cardiology clinic
• Aged 18-69 years
• User of a compatible smartphone

Exclusion criteria

• Already using an activity tracker
• Preferred form of activity is not measured by an activity tracker(swimming, yoga, ice skating, stair master, or activities on wheels such as bicycling or rollerblading)
• Prohibited from normal activity due to wheelchair bound status, bed bound status, reliance on a cane/walker, activity-limiting pulmonary disease, activity-limiting angina, activity-limiting osteoarthritis, or other condition.
• 3 days or more of moderate or vigorous activity during leisure time for 30 minutes of more per day by International Physical Activity Questionnaire

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Factorial Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

---

48 participants in 3 patient groups, including a placebo group

Blinded Digital Activity Tracker

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

Blinded Digital Activity Tracker = Group wears the tracker but is blinded to the numeric physical activity feedback information provided by the tracker.

Treatment:

Device: Digital Activity Tracker

Unblinded Digital Activity Tracker / No Smart Text Messaging

Experimental group

Description:

Unblinded Digital Activity Tracker = Group unblinded to the numeric physical activity feedback information provided by the digital activity tracker. No Smart Text Messaging = Group does not receive personalized, health coaching via "smart" text messages. Note that the study occurred over two study phases after the 1-week blinded run-in. In the first 2-week phase, participants were randomized to unblinded or blinded tracking. In the second 2-week phase, the unblinded participants were randomized to receive smart texts or no texts.

Treatment:

Device: Digital Activity Tracker

Unblinded Digital Activity Tracker / Smart Text Messaging

Experimental group

Description:

Unblinded Digital Activity Tracker = Group unblinded to the numeric physical activity feedback information provided by the digital activity tracker. Smart Text Messaging = Group receives personalized, health coaching via "smart" text messages. Note that the study occurred over two study phases after the 1-week blinded run-in. In the first 2-week phase, participants were randomized to unblinded or blinded tracking. In the second 2-week phase, the unblinded participants were randomized to receive smart texts or no texts.

Treatment:

Device: Digital Activity Tracker

Other: Smart Text Messaging