Incentives for Physical Activity in Older Adults

No longer recruiting at 1 trial location

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: University of California, San Diego

Disqualifiers: Below 55, No smartphone, Others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 1

Duration: 4 weeks

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial examines whether incentives can encourage older adults to become more active. Participants will wear a Fitbit to track their steps, and some will receive rewards, such as meal donations or gift cards, for meeting step goals. The main aim is to determine if these incentives can improve physical and mental health. It suits those 55 and older who own a smartphone, can walk independently, and rarely walk for exercise or leisure outside their home. As an unphased trial, this study provides a unique opportunity to contribute to research that could enhance the well-being of older adults.

Do I need to stop my current medications to join the trial?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications. It seems focused on physical activity and incentives, so it's likely you can continue your medications, but please confirm with the trial organizers.

What prior data suggests that these incentive-based interventions are safe for older adults?

Research shows that offering money or social rewards can help older adults become more active. In past studies, these rewards have proven popular and safe. For example, one study found that older adults who received money for walking walked more than those who did not, without any serious problems.

Another study found that combining money with social goals also safely increased activity levels. The rewards used in these studies, such as meal donations and gift cards, have been safe and motivating for participants. This indicates that using rewards to encourage walking is both effective and safe for older adults. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about this trial because it explores using incentives to boost physical activity in older adults, which is a fresh approach compared to traditional methods like providing exercise programs or physical therapy. Unlike these standard options, this treatment uses a combination of meal donations and monetary rewards to motivate participants. By linking physical activity to tangible incentives, it aims to make daily exercise more engaging and rewarding, potentially leading to better adherence and improved health outcomes in this population.

What evidence suggests that incentives for physical activity could be effective for increasing activity levels in older adults?

This trial will compare the effects of incentives on physical activity in older adults. Research has shown that offering money can significantly increase physical activity, such as walking, in adults. One study found that personal rewards encouraged more walking, regardless of age. These rewards can lead to short-term increases in activity, which are important for health. Evidence also suggests that once individuals become accustomed to being more active, they can maintain this behavior even with fewer rewards. Combining financial incentives with other motivators, such as game-like elements, can be both effective and affordable. Overall, using rewards to encourage walking can effectively help older adults become more active. ^{6 7 8 9 10}

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for older adults aged 55 and above who can walk independently but are not very active, walking outside their home or yard for fun or exercise only 'never' or 'seldom'. Participants must own a smartphone to track their activity.

Inclusion Criteria

I can walk on my own without help.

If you went outside your home or yard for fun or exercise in the past week Never, Seldom (1-2 days), Sometimes (3-4 days) or Often (5-7 days) and answered Never or Seldom, then you are eligible to participate.

I am 60 years old or older.

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

1 week

1 visit (in-person)

Baseline Assessment

Participants' baseline physical activity is collected using Fitbit for 1 week

1 week

Data collection via Fitbit

Treatment

Participants receive incentives for meeting step goals; step count is tracked using Fitbit

4 weeks

Data collection via Fitbit

Follow-up

Participants' physical activity and mental health are assessed post-treatment

1 week

Data collection via Fitbit and survey

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Incentives for Physical Activity

Trial Overview The study tests if incentives like meal donations and gift cards can increase physical activity in older adults. Half will receive these incentives for walking more, while the other half won't. Activity is tracked via Fitbits, with health assessed before and after.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Treatment Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Fitabase collects data from Fitbits worn by the participants. Under the treatment functionality, participants earn a meal donation for each day that they meet the step goal and a monetary incentive for each day they meet the step goal (for upto 5 days a week). The investigators identified 7,500 steps as an appropriate goal as studies show older adults walk 4,000 steps on average. Meals are donated by the investigators on behalf of participants.

Group II: Control Active Control 1 Intervention

The control group will not have the functionality to earn meal donations or monetary incentives by walking, and will only be asked to wear their Fitbit so that step count data can be collected.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

University of California, San Diego

Lead Sponsor

Trials

1,215

Recruited

1,593,000+

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Collaborator

Trials

1,841

Recruited

28,150,000+

University of Southern California

Collaborator

Trials

956

Recruited

1,609,000+

Citations

1. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7785661/

Leveraging Goals to Incentivize Healthful Behaviors Across ... Overall, financial incentives significantly increased walking compared to a control group. Whereas personal incentives were effective regardless of age, ...

2. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743525000209

Financial incentives for physical activity in adults Incentives yield short-term, clinically significant physical activity increases. •. Few RCTs examine long-term (n = 5) or follow-up (n = 8) effects.

3. jamanetwork.com jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2811524

Reduction of Financial Health Incentives and Physical Activity These results suggest that physical activity, once established, may be maintained with less frequent and less costly financial health incentive reinforcement.

4. bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-14-141

Effects of financial incentives on motivating physical activity ... This study aimed to ascertain if incentives could be effective in motivating physical activity through improving uptake of walking programs.

5. oecd.org oecd.org/en/publications/the-economic-benefit-of-promoting-healthy-ageing-and-community-care_0f7bc62b-en/full-report/promoting-healthy-ageing-from-the-outset_ffc3b60b.html

The Economic Benefit of Promoting Healthy Ageing and ... Gamification and nudges can also be powerful and cost-effective motivators that can be combined with financial incentives or used on their own.

6. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10438214/

Factors that influence older adults' participation in physical ... Older adults' capability was influenced by functional capacity (e.g. strength) and perceived risk of injury from PA (e.g. falls). Opportunity was impacted by ...

7. health.gov health.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/PAG_MidcourseReport_508c_final.pdf

Implementation Strategies for Older Adults The report provides an overview of evidence-based strategies to increase physical activity among older adults in key settings and reinforces the ...

8. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0749379716306122

A Trial of Financial and Social Incentives to Increase Older ... Conclusions. Results of this study show that personal financial incentives and social goals are effective at promoting increased walking among older adults.

9. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3888599/

Physical activity is medicine for older adults - PMC The group that received financial incentives had significantly higher walking activity levels than their non-financially rewarded counterparts.

10. ahajournals.org ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.124.069531

Effect of Gamification, Financial Incentives, or Both to ... In this trial of adults at high risk for major adverse cardiovascular events, interventions with gamification, financial incentives, and ...