ExerciseNCT02154256
Incentive Disbursement Pattern
A study testing Increasing incentives, Decreasing incentives and stable incentives in people with Exercise, run by University of Pennsylvania at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This study will be a three-arm randomized, controlled trial that the investigators will run in 2014 with approximately 4,000 users of an app called Achievemint. AchieveMint rewards users with points (which can be redeemed for prizes) for every step they take. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Exercise
- What is being tested?
- Increasing incentives, Decreasing incentives and stable incentives
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 3,519 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- Jun 2014to Aug 2014
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- all users of the Achievemint app will be eligible for inclusion
Who cannot join
- all users of the Achievemint app who are in the top 30 percentiles of activity levels will be excluded.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104
About this study
Official title: Increasing, Decreasing, and Stable Incentives in a Health App Aggregator Website
This study will be a three-arm randomized, controlled trial that the investigators will run in 2014 with approximately 4,000 users of an app called Achievemint. AchieveMint rewards users with points (which can be redeemed for prizes) for every step they take. The investigators will be testing three different point-based programs designed to encourage users to build exercise habits over the course of a month: stable incentives, increasing incentives, and decreasing incentives. After the investigators' month-long intervention period, the investigators will observe users' step counts during a month-long follow-up period to test which of the investigators' habit-building programs leaves users with the best exercise habits (or the highest step counts) after they conclude.
The time frame of observation will be 8 months.
Read the detailed description
Past research has shown that paying people to exercise repeatedly can create exercise habits that last long after cash incentives are removed (Charness and Gneezy, 2009; Acland and Levy, 2013). the investigators' research will examine what kind of incentive programs build long-lasting habits most effectively. Specifically, the investigators will compare the long-term effects (based on step counts in the one month after the conclusion of the investigators' intervention) of three different interventions: (1) incentives for taking steps that remain stable over the course of a month (stable incentives); (2) incentives (of equal net value) for taking steps that start low and grow larger over the course of the month (increasing incentives); and (3) incentives (of equal net value) for taking steps that start high and decrease over the course of the month (decreasing incentives). For example, during the month-long intervention, users in group (1) will receive 6x their usual points every day for each step they take; users in group (2) will receive 2x the usual points for several days, then 3x the usual points, and so on up to 10x the usual number of points; finally, group (3) will have the same incentive schedule as group (2) but in reverse - starting with a 10x multiplier and declining. The question is this: Is it better to ease people into exercise when trying to help them form a lasting habit, to start them off intensively and then ease up the pressure, or to maintain steady, constant incentives to exercise? By examining the steps taken by members of the investigators' three experimental groups in the month following the investigators' intervention, the investigators will be able to assess whether increasing, decreasing, or stable incentives are ideal for creating lasting habits after incentives are removed. The anticipated output of this project is a published research paper.
The time frame of observation will be 8 months.
- Conditions
- Exercise
- Being tested
- Increasing incentives, Decreasing incentives, stable incentives
- Keywords
- walking, incentives, exercise, habits
- Medical subject headings
- Motor Activity, Habits
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Increasing incentivesBehavioural
Offer incentives that increase over time.
Decreasing incentivesBehavioural
offer incentives that decrease over time
stable incentivesBehavioural
offer incentives that are stable over time, but higher than usual care
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Increasing incentives | Experimental | The investigators will offer incentives to users that begin low, and get higher over time. Receives: Behavioral: Increasing incentives |
| Decreasing incentives | Experimental | The investigators will offer incentives to users that start high, and decrease over time. Receives: Behavioral: Decreasing incentives |
| Stable incentives | Experimental | The investigators will offer incentives that stay stable over time. Receives: Behavioral: stable incentives |
| Usual care control | No intervention | The investigators will offer incentives that are identical to the incentives normally offered by the investigators' partner company. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Steps walked
Subjects will track steps walked with pedometers. The investigators will track how many steps they take for 8 months
Measured: 8 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted3 Jun 2014 (estimated)
- Study startJun 2014
- Primary completionAug 2014
- Study completionAug 2014
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for ExerciseStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of PennsylvaniaThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 3,519 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Pennsylvania
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Katherine L Milkman, PhD, Principal investigator, University of Pennsylvania
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02154256
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- AM14I001
- Status last verified
- Sep 2016
- First submitted
- 27 May 2014
- Last updated
- 27 Sep 2016
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
Publications
Bachireddy C, Joung A, John LK, Gino F, Tuckfield B, Foschini L, Milkman KL. Effect of Different Financial Incentive Structures on Promoting Physical Activity Among Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2019 Aug 2;2(8):e199863. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.9863.
PubMed 31441936
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 27 Sep 2016. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Increasing, Decreasing, and Stable Incentives in a Health App Aggregator Website
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02154256
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- AM14I001
- Conditions
- Exercise
- Keywords
- walking, incentives, exercise, habits
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 3,519 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of PennsylvaniaUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- Jun 2014
- Primary completion
- Aug 2014 (actual)
- Study completion
- Aug 2014 (actual)
- First posted
- 3 Jun 2014 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study will be a three-arm randomized, controlled trial that the investigators will run in 2014 with approximately 4,000 users of an app called Achievemint. AchieveMint rewards users with points (which can be redeemed for prizes) for every step they take. The investigators will be testing three different point-based programs designed to encourage users to build exercise habits over the course of a month: stable incentives, increasing incentives, and decreasing incentives. After the investigators' month-long intervention period, the investigators will observe users' step counts during a month-long follow-up period to test which of the investigators' habit-building programs leaves users with the best exercise habits (or the highest step counts) after they conclude.
The time frame of observation will be 8 months.
Detailed description
Past research has shown that paying people to exercise repeatedly can create exercise habits that last long after cash incentives are removed (Charness and Gneezy, 2009; Acland and Levy, 2013). the investigators' research will examine what kind of incentive programs build long-lasting habits most effectively. Specifically, the investigators will compare the long-term effects (based on step counts in the one month after the conclusion of the investigators' intervention) of three different interventions: (1) incentives for taking steps that remain stable over the course of a month (stable incentives); (2) incentives (of equal net value) for taking steps that start low and grow larger over the course of the month (increasing incentives); and (3) incentives (of equal net value) for taking steps that start high and decrease over the course of the month (decreasing incentives). For example, during the month-long intervention, users in group (1) will receive 6x their usual points every day for each step they take; users in group (2) will receive 2x the usual points for several days, then 3x the usual points, and so on up to 10x the usual number of points; finally, group (3) will have the same incentive schedule as group (2) but in reverse - starting with a 10x multiplier and declining. The question is this: Is it better to ease people into exercise when trying to help them form a lasting habit, to start them off intensively and then ease up the pressure, or to maintain steady, constant incentives to exercise? By examining the steps taken by members of the investigators' three experimental groups in the month following the investigators' intervention, the investigators will be able to assess whether increasing, decreasing, or stable incentives are ideal for creating lasting habits after incentives are removed. The anticipated output of this project is a published research paper.
The time frame of observation will be 8 months.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 4
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Increasing incentives | Experimental | Behavioral: Increasing incentivesThe investigators will offer incentives to users that begin low, and get higher over time. |
| Decreasing incentives | Experimental | Behavioral: Decreasing incentivesThe investigators will offer incentives to users that start high, and decrease over time. |
| Stable incentives | Experimental | Behavioral: stable incentivesThe investigators will offer incentives that stay stable over time. |
| Usual care control | No intervention | –The investigators will offer incentives that are identical to the incentives normally offered by the investigators' partner company. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- all users of the Achievemint app will be eligible for inclusion
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- all users of the Achievemint app who are in the top 30 percentiles of activity levels will be excluded.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Increasing incentivesOffer incentives that increase over time. | Behavioural | Increasing incentives |
| Decreasing incentivesoffer incentives that decrease over time | Behavioural | Decreasing incentives |
| stable incentivesoffer incentives that are stable over time, but higher than usual care | Behavioural | Stable incentives |
Primary outcome
Steps walked
Time frame: 8 months
Subjects will track steps walked with pedometers. The investigators will track how many steps they take for 8 months
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 27 Sep 2016.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 31441936Bachireddy C, Joung A, John LK, Gino F, Tuckfield B, Foschini L, Milkman KL. Effect of Different Financial Incentive Structures on Promoting Physical Activity Among Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2019 Aug 2;2(8):e199863. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.9863.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Katherine L Milkman, PhD principal investigator
University of Pennsylvania
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Increasing incentives, Decreasing incentives and stable incentives in people with Exercise, run by University of Pennsylvania at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 27 Sep 2016. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Steps walked (time frame: 8 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT02154256, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 27 Sep 2016; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 28 Oct 2026.