Ruth F Hunter1, Mark A Tully2, Michael Davis3, Michael Stevenson4, Frank Kee2. 1. Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Institute of Clinical Sciences B, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom; UKCRC Centre of Excellence for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Institute of Clinical Sciences B, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. Electronic address: ruth.hunter@qub.ac.uk. 2. Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Institute of Clinical Sciences B, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom; UKCRC Centre of Excellence for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Institute of Clinical Sciences B, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. 3. Centre for Secure Information Technologies, Queen's University Belfast, Institute of Clinical Sciences B, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. 4. Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Institute of Clinical Sciences B, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Financial incentives have been advocated by the UK and U.S. governments to encourage adoption of healthy lifestyles. However, evidence to support the use of incentives for changing physical activity (PA) behavior is sparse. PURPOSE: To investigate the effectiveness of financial incentives to increase PA in adults in the workplace. DESIGN: Two-arm quasi-experimental design. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Employees (n=406) in a workplace setting in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. INTERVENTION: Using a loyalty card to collect points and earn rewards, participants (n=199) in the Incentive Group monitored their PA levels and received financial incentives (retail vouchers) for minutes of PA completed over the course of a 12-week intervention period. Participants (n=207) in the comparison group used their loyalty card to self-monitor their PA levels but were not able to earn points or obtain incentives (No Incentive Group). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was minutes of PA objectively measured using a novel PA tracking system at baseline (April 2011); Week 6 (June 2011); and Week 12 (July 2011). Other outcomes, including a self-report measure of PA, were collected at baseline, Week 12, and 6 months (October 2011). Data were analyzed in June 2012. RESULTS: No significant differences between groups were found for primary or secondary outcomes at the 12-week and 6-month assessments. Participants in the Incentive Group recorded 17.52 minutes of PA/week (95% CI=12.49, 22.56) compared to 16.63 minutes/week (95% CI=11.76, 21.51) in the No Incentive Group at Week 12 (p=0.59). At 6 months, participants in the Incentive Group recorded 26.18 minutes of PA/week (95% CI=20.06, 32.29) compared to 24.00 minutes/week (95% CI=17.45, 30.54) in the No Incentive Group (p=0.45). CONCLUSIONS: Financial incentives did not encourage participants to undertake more PA than self-monitoring PA. This study contributes to the evidence base and has important implications for increasing participation in physical activity and fostering links with the business sector.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Financial incentives have been advocated by the UK and U.S. governments to encourage adoption of healthy lifestyles. However, evidence to support the use of incentives for changing physical activity (PA) behavior is sparse. PURPOSE: To investigate the effectiveness of financial incentives to increase PA in adults in the workplace. DESIGN: Two-arm quasi-experimental design. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Employees (n=406) in a workplace setting in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. INTERVENTION: Using a loyalty card to collect points and earn rewards, participants (n=199) in the Incentive Group monitored their PA levels and received financial incentives (retail vouchers) for minutes of PA completed over the course of a 12-week intervention period. Participants (n=207) in the comparison group used their loyalty card to self-monitor their PA levels but were not able to earn points or obtain incentives (No Incentive Group). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was minutes of PA objectively measured using a novel PA tracking system at baseline (April 2011); Week 6 (June 2011); and Week 12 (July 2011). Other outcomes, including a self-report measure of PA, were collected at baseline, Week 12, and 6 months (October 2011). Data were analyzed in June 2012. RESULTS: No significant differences between groups were found for primary or secondary outcomes at the 12-week and 6-month assessments. Participants in the Incentive Group recorded 17.52 minutes of PA/week (95% CI=12.49, 22.56) compared to 16.63 minutes/week (95% CI=11.76, 21.51) in the No Incentive Group at Week 12 (p=0.59). At 6 months, participants in the Incentive Group recorded 26.18 minutes of PA/week (95% CI=20.06, 32.29) compared to 24.00 minutes/week (95% CI=17.45, 30.54) in the No Incentive Group (p=0.45). CONCLUSIONS: Financial incentives did not encourage participants to undertake more PA than self-monitoring PA. This study contributes to the evidence base and has important implications for increasing participation in physical activity and fostering links with the business sector.
Authors: Allison N Kurti; Danielle R Davis; Ryan Redner; Brantley P Jarvis; Ivori Zvorsky; Diana R Keith; Hypatia A Bolivar; Thomas J White; Peter Rippberger; Catherine Markesich; Gary Atwood; Stephen T Higgins Journal: Transl Issues Psychol Sci Date: 2016-06
Authors: Ruth F Hunter; Helen McAneney; Michael Davis; Mark A Tully; Thomas W Valente; Frank Kee Journal: Am J Public Health Date: 2015-01-20 Impact factor: 9.308
Authors: Luke Wolfenden; Sharni Goldman; Fiona G Stacey; Alice Grady; Melanie Kingsland; Christopher M Williams; John Wiggers; Andrew Milat; Chris Rissel; Adrian Bauman; Margaret M Farrell; France Légaré; Ali Ben Charif; Hervé Tchala Vignon Zomahoun; Rebecca K Hodder; Jannah Jones; Debbie Booth; Benjamin Parmenter; Tim Regan; Sze Lin Yoong Journal: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Date: 2018-11-14