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Promoting Physical Activity Among E mployees. Grace Poon (HPB) and Patsy Lam (Duke-NUS). Who Are W e?. Health Promotion Board (HPB) and Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Funded by the Ministry of Health
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Promoting Physical Activity Among Employees Grace Poon (HPB) and Patsy Lam (Duke-NUS)
Who Are We? • Health Promotion Board (HPB) and Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School • Funded by the Ministry of Health • Study to test whether financial incentives can motivate full-time employees to become more physically active
Background • 4 in 10 Singaporean residents are not sufficiently physically active – lack of time most common reason • Full-time employees are among the least active group • Inactivity increases risk of obesity and many chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes
Our Study • Research shows that incentives can motivate behaviour change, at least in the short term. • Test whether financial incentives can motivate full-time employees to walk more. • Compare groups of employees, some who receive no incentives with others who receive incentives for physical activity over a 6-month period, to see which group overall has greater levels of physical activity.
Eligibility for Participation • You will be eligible if you satisfy ALL of these requirements- • You work full-time (i.e. 35+ hours of paid work) for your company. • You are aged between 21 – 65 years. • You do not have a health condition that may prevent you from taking part.
Randomised Design • You and your colleagues will be randomly allocated into one of four research arms (lucky draw). • Incentive schemes are different for each research arm. • Randomisation is necessary to ensure that participants sharing particular characteristics (for example, age, sex, education levels) do not end up belonging to the same research arm. • Necessary in order to attribute any changes in health outcomes to features of the programme.
Four Research Arms • Control Group – Earn $4 a week for 6 months. No physical activity goals. • Fitbit Only Group – Earn $4 a week for 6 months. No physical activity goal, but will receive wireless pedometer. • Cash Incentive Group – Earn cash incentives for 6 months for meeting physical activity goals. • Charity Incentive Group – Same as above, except that incentives will be donated to a charity of the participant’s choice.
How Will We Monitor How Much You Walk? • Fitbit Zip is a wireless physical activity monitor that measures steps • Data is synced wirelessly via a USB dongle that can be plugged into any PC or via some smartphone models (bluetooth). Syncing stations will be set up. • Participants will receive regular updates via email or by logging onto the Fitbit website • They can also check their history on the Fitbit website or via a smartphone app • Control group participants will not receive Fitbit.
Physical Activity Goals and Incentives • Below are the incentives that participants in the cash and charity incentive groups will receive upon meeting step goals- • $0 for < 50,000 steps a week • $15 for completing 50,000 – 69,999 steps a week • $30 for completing ≥ 70,000 steps a week • Maximum number of steps that will be counted per day for incentives is 20,000.
Overview 1. Complete an online screening questionnaire (10 min) 2. Attend a talk by Duke-NUS researchers (30 min), have biometrics taken, sign consent form, pay enrollment fee* & pick up accelerometer (15 min) 3. Wear accelerometer for 7 days & complete a 30-min online questionnaire 4. Have accelerometer data validated, be randomized & set up Fitbit (30 mins) 5. Wear Fitbit from Months 1- 6 (unless randomised to Control arm) 6. Wear accelerometer for 7 days, complete a 30-minute online questionnaire & have biometrics taken at Months 6 & 12 * Enrollment Fee is $30, including a $10 non-refundable fee and a $20 refundable deposit that will be returned upon programme completion and return of Fitbit by participant.
Is This Programme Safe? • Safety of participants is our priority. • Screening questionnaire identifies people not fit enough to participate (answer questions truthfully). • Walking is low-intensity physical activity. • You choose the intensity / pace of your activity. • We do not encourage more than 20,000 steps a day. • No medicines or food supplements will be advised as part of this programme.