Can a Smartphone App That Includes a Chatbot-based Coaching and Incentives Increase Physical Activity in Healthy Adults?

Summary

The investigators conduct a micro-randomized trial to test main effects and moderators of three different intervention components of Ally, a mHealth intervention to promote physical activity that is offered to customers of a large Swiss health insurance. Interventions include the use of different incentive strategies, a weekly planning intervention and daily message prompts to support self-regulation. The Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) as well as principles from behavioral economics were used to guide the development of interventions. Further, sensor data is collected in order to enable prediction of latent contextual variables. These data can be used to build prediction models for the user's state of receptivity, i.e. points in time where the user is able and/or willing to receive, process and utilize the support provided. The results of this study enable the evidence-based development of a just-in-time adaptive intervention for physical activity.

Conditions

• Physical Activity

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Self-regulation coaching

Short (2-5 min.) dialogue with the digital coach who provides information relevant for behavioral self-regulation, such as a goal reminder, the distance between the current step count and the goal and strategies to increase daily steps. Participants are randomized to self-regulation coaching or control (no coaching) on a daily basis.

BEHAVIORAL

Planning

A dialogue with the digital coach who prompts the participant to either formulate action plans (when and where the participant can go for a walk) or coping plans (strategies to respond to barriers for increasing daily steps) for the upcoming week. Participants are randomized on a weekly basis to action planning, coping planning or control (no planning).

BEHAVIORAL

Financial Incentives

Participants receive CHF 1 ($1) for each day they meet a personalized adaptive step goal.

BEHAVIORAL

Charity Incentives

Participants donate CHF 1 ($1) to a charity of choice for each day they meet a personalized adaptive step goal.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• CSS health insurance

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• University of St.Gallen

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Tobias Kowatsch, PhD · University of St.Gallen

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-10-24

Primary Completion

2017-12-17

Completion

2018-01-31

Countries

• Switzerland

Study Locations