The Effectiveness of an E-Intervention on Health Behavior Promotion in Chinese University Students

Hong Kong Baptist University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Physical Activity; Healthy Diet; Health Behavior

Treatments: Behavioral: E-intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03627949

FRG2/15-16/032

Details and patient eligibility

About

Through the internet and mobile phone SMS technology, and by using the Health Action Process Approach model as a theoretical backdrop, this 8-week theory-based intervention study aimed at developing a healthy lifestyle by supporting physical activity (PA) and a healthy dietary for Chinese university students. The investigators would examine whether the two intervention groups improve the participants' motivation for PA and healthy diets in comparison to the control group; whether, with the help of an intervention program, students are able to increase the PA levels and healthy diet consumption, and whether there are different effects between the two intervention programs.

Full description

For the main study, the sample size was estimated by using G*Power 3.1 software with MANOVA approach (repeated measure). For achieving small effect size of 0.15 (Lippke, Fleig, Wiedemann, & Schwarzer, 2015), with a power (1-β) of 0.8 and alpha of 0.05, the total sample size was 306. Assuming a drop-out rate of approximately 30%, a total of 399 participants were required for the study evaluation.

The effects of the intervention were evaluated by performing several analyses of MANOVA and MANCOVA measured at three points in time (8-week apart pre-post measures, and four weeks follow-up; T1-T3).In addition, moderated multiple mediation analysis was performed (Independent variable: intervention; Moderators: stage; Dependent variable: behavioural and social-cognitive outcomes). Baseline characteristics of participants who dropped out were compared with participants who finished the intervention to examine whether drop out is at random or determined by specific characteristics.

Enrollment: 621 patients

Sex: All

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• not professional athletes; not vegetarians
• no contraindication with respect to the physical activity or fruit and vegetable consumption.
• access to the Internet and a mobile phone.

Exclusion criteria

• have the restriction of physical mobility
• have fruit-vegetable related diseases such as diabetes or fruit allergies.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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621 participants in 3 patient groups

Intervention group 1

Experimental group

Description:

Students in the intervention group 1 received first 4-week treatment on physical activity followed by 4-week treatment on healthy dietary behaviour.

Treatment:

Behavioral: E-intervention

Intervention group 2

Experimental group

Description:

Students in the intervention group 2 received first 4-week treatment on healthy dietary behaviour followed by 4-week treatment on physical activity.

Treatment:

Behavioral: E-intervention

Control group

No Intervention group

Description:

Students in the control group were not provided with any supportive treatments on physical activity or healthy dietary behaviour.