Completed

A Randomized Trial of Behavioral Economic Interventions to Improve Physical Activities: Framing vs Incentives

What is being tested

Financial incentives

+ Teams

+ Daily Feedback

Behavioral

Who is being recruted

Behavior

+ Sedentary Behavior

From 18 to 100 Years

+4 Eligibility Criteria

See all eligibility criteria

How is the trial designed

Other Study

Interventional

Study Start: January 2014

See protocol details

Summary

Principal SponsorUniversity of Pennsylvania

Last updated: January 27, 2026

Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Study start date: January 1, 2014

Actual date on which the first participant was enrolled.

Employers are increasingly looking for opportunities to motivate sedentary employees to become more physically active. Workplace walking programs have had mixed success and typically show most improvement among participants that are already fairly active at a baseline. The goal of this study is to determine whether a financial incentive program can motivate sedentary employees to increase the number of steps they walk per day to meet a minimum threshold. The primary outcome measure is the proportion of days a minimum activity of 7000 steps or more is achieved. Outcomes will be assessed each week for 3 months using incentives followed by 3 months of follow-up without incentives. Secondary outcomes will include the average steps walked per day.

Official TitleA Randomized Trial of Behavioral Economic Interventions to Improve Physical Activities: Framing vs Incentives

NCT02030080

Principal SponsorUniversity of Pennsylvania

Last updated: January 27, 2026

Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Protocol

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

Design Details

288 patients to be enrolled

Total number of participants that the clinical trial aims to recruit.

Other Study

Some studies explore topics that don't fall into a specific category. These might include innovative research, new technologies, or emerging healthcare areas.

Eligibility

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Conditions

Criteria

Any sex

Biological sex of participants that are eligible to enroll.

From 18 to 100 Years

Range of ages for which participants are eligible to join.

Healthy volunteers not allowed

If individuals who are healthy and do not have the condition being studied can participate.

Conditions

Pathology

BehaviorSedentary Behavior

Criteria

2 inclusion criteria required to participate

Age greater than 18.

Participant will need an iPhone or Android smartphone to be able to use the Moves App for tracking steps

2 exclusion criteria prevent from participating

Pregnant or lactating

Currently participating in another physical activity study

Study Plan

Find out more about all the medication administered in this study, their detailed description and what they involve.

Treatment Groups

Study Objectives

4 intervention groups are designated in this study

This study does not include a placebo group

Treatment Groups

Group I

Experimental

At the end of each week, participants will be told the average daily step count for their team for the previous week. They will also be told the average for the 50th percentile in their arm. If their team's average daily step count is ≥ 7000 steps, they'll be eligible to collect winnings from a weekly lottery. Teams whose average daily step count is less than 7000 will receive messages about how much they would have won had the team met its goal.

Group II

Experimental

At the end of each week, participants will be told the average daily step count for their team for the previous week. They will also be told the average for the 75th percentile in their arm. If their team's average daily step count is ≥ 7000 steps, they'll be eligible to collect winnings from a weekly lottery. Teams whose average daily step count is less than 7000 will receive messages about how much they would have won had the team met its goal.

Group III

Active Comparator

At the end of each week, participants will be told the average daily step count for their team for the previous week. They will also be told the average for the 50th percentile in their arm.

Group IV

Experimental

At the end of each week, participants will be told the average daily step count for their team for the previous week. They will also be told the average for the 75th percentile in their arm.

Study Objectives

Primary Objectives

Secondary Objectives

Study Centers

These are the hospitals, clinics, or research facilities where the trial is being conducted. You can find the location closest to you and its status.

This study has 1 location

Suspended

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, United StatesOpen University of Pennsylvania in Google Maps

CompletedOne Study Center