scholarly journals Effect of a financial incentive (shopping point) on increasing the number of daily walking steps among community-dwelling adults in Japan: a randomised controlled trial

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. e037303
Author(s):  
Fumiya Tanji ◽  
Yasutake Tomata ◽  
Saho Abe ◽  
Sanae Matsuyama ◽  
Yumika Kotaki ◽  
...  

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a financial incentive on the number of daily walking steps among community-dwelling adults in Japan.Study designTwo-arm, parallel-group randomised controlled trial.Setting/participantsWe recruited physically inactive community-dwelling adults from Sendai city, Japan. Eligible participants were randomly allocated to an intervention or a wait list control group. Pedometers were used to assess the mean number of daily steps in three periods: baseline (weeks 1–3), intervention (weeks 4–6) and follow-up (weeks 7–9).InterventionThe intervention group was offered a financial incentive (shopping points) to meet the target number of increased daily steps in the intervention period.Main outcome measuresThe primary outcome was an increase in the mean number of daily steps in the intervention and follow-up periods compared with baseline.ResultsSeventy-two participants (69.4% women; mean age, 61.2±16.2 years; mean number of daily steps at baseline, 6364±2804) were randomised to the intervention (n=36) and control groups (n=36). During the intervention period, the increase in mean daily steps was significantly higher in the intervention group (1650, 95% CI=1182 to 2119) than in the control group (514, 95% CI=136 to 891; p<0.001). However, the difference between groups was not significant at follow-up after the incentives were removed (p=0.311). In addition, compared with controls, a significantly higher proportion of participants in the intervention group showed an increase in mean daily steps of ≥1000 (69.4% vs 30.6%, respectively; OR=5.17, 95% CI=1.89 to 14.08). There were no adverse effects from the intervention.ConclusionsThe present results suggest that financial incentives are effective in promoting short-term increases in physical activity.Trial registration numberUMIN000033276.

Author(s):  
Yiwen Bai ◽  
Xubo Wu ◽  
Raymond CC Tsang ◽  
Ruisheng Yun ◽  
Yan Lu ◽  
...  

A randomised controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the administration of the Health Improvement Card (HIC) on lifestyle practices and biometric variables in community-dwelling Chinese participants. Adults living in Shanghai were randomly assigned to either the HIC-intervention or control group. Measurements/assessments were conducted at baseline and three-month follow-up. Supervised physiotherapy students administered the HIC and four standardised questionnaires related to health and wellbeing. Both groups received a health promotion education pamphlet. Based on participants’ HIC biometric and lifestyle scores, students prescribed lifestyle, and exercise advice to the HIC-intervention group. 171 individuals (39 men, 132 women) (mean age 68.4 ± 9.7 y) participated. At follow-up, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference decreased significantly in the HIC-intervention group. Furthermore, the number of participants in the HIC-intervention group categorised as low risk regarding their physical activity and dietary practices, increased by 32.2% and 20%, respectively. Changes in standardised questionnaire scores did not meet minimum clinically importance differences in either group. This is the first study to demonstrate that HIC-informed health promotion education can improve people’s lifestyle practices, thereby, objective biometric variables. Evaluation of the effect of HIC-informed lifestyle education on some biometric parameters (blood pressure and BMI) may warrant a longer timeframe.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. e026086
Author(s):  
Yasutake Tomata ◽  
Fumiya Tanji ◽  
Dieta Nurrika ◽  
Yingxu Liu ◽  
Saho Abe ◽  
...  

IntroductionPhysical activity is one of the major modifiable factors for promotion of public health. Although it has been reported that financial incentives would be effective for promoting health behaviours such as smoking cessation or attendance for cancer screening, few randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have examined the effect of financial incentives for increasing the number of daily steps among individuals in a community setting. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of financial incentives for increasing the number of daily steps among community-dwelling adults in Japan.Methods and analysisThis study will be a two-arm, parallel-group RCT. We will recruit community-dwelling adults who are physically inactive in a suburban area (Nakayama) of Sendai city, Japan, using leaflets and posters. Participants that meet the inclusion criteria will be randomly allocated to an intervention group or a waitlist control group. The intervention group will be offered a financial incentive (a chance to get shopping points) if participants increase their daily steps from their baseline. The primary outcome will be the average increase in the number of daily steps (at 4–6 weeks and 7–9 weeks) relative to the average number of daily steps at the baseline (1–3 weeks). For the sample size calculation, we assumed that the difference of primary outcome would be 1302 steps.Ethics and disseminationThis study has been ethically approved by the research ethics committee of Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan (No. 2018-1-171). The results will be submitted and published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.Trial registration numberUMIN000033276; Pre-results.


2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (Supplement_4) ◽  
pp. iv18-iv27
Author(s):  
Sasiporn Ounjaichon ◽  
Chris Todd ◽  
Emma Stanmore ◽  
Elisabeth Boulton

Abstract Introduction Falls are the leading cause of injuries in older Thai adults. There is a need to develop a fall prevention exercise programme to encourage participation and adherence. The adapted Lifestyle-integrated Functional Exercise (aLiFE) programme may be suitable by integrating exercise into daily routines as opposed to attending an exercise class. This study aimed to explore the acceptability and feasibility of the aLiFE programme in Thai context (TLiFE) among older Thai adults. Methods Based on the findings of a prior qualitative study, a feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT) of TLiFE was conducted among community-dwelling older adults, comparing the TLiFE intervention group with a usual care control group. Outcome measures were analysed at baseline, 3 months, and after 6 months of the intervention. Results We recruited a total of 72 older adults into the RCT, randomised to TLiFE (n=36) and control (n=36). The retention rate at 6 months was 91.7%. Attendance in the intervention group (3 home visits and 4 follow-up calls) was 82.9%. There were no differences in fall incidence between the groups. The acceptability survey reveals TLiFE is easy to perform in daily life, safe, and useful. No adverse events were reported. Conclusion The TLiFE programme appears to be acceptable and feasible to deliver to community-dwelling older Thai adults. This feasibility study was not powered to detect a difference between groups. A further fully powered definitive randomised controlled trial of TLiFE is needed to evaluate long-term outcomes and cost-effectiveness before it is integrated within the healthcare system in Thailand.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucie Waedel ◽  
Anne Daubmann ◽  
Antonia Zapf ◽  
Olaf Reis

Abstract Background Boys with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities (MBID) are at particular risk to drink in harmful ways once they start to consume alcohol. Interventions based on mindfulness have been proven to be effective in preventing substance use, but mostly for adults with MBID. A mindfulness oriented intervention targeting 11–17 years old boys will be tested in a randomised controlled trial. Study aim is to investigate the benefits of this new intervention compared to an active control condition within a 12 months follow-up. Methods In this randomised controlled proof of concept study, 82 boys with MBID who consumed any alcohol during the last year will be randomised either to the 6 week mindfulness oriented intervention or the control group receiving a control intervention equal in dose and length. The intervention group undergoes mindfulness training combined with interactive drug education, while the control group completes a health training combined with the same education. In the intention-to-treat analysis the primary outcome is the self-reported delay of first post-intervention drunkeness within a 12 months follow-up time span, measured weekly with a short app-based questionnaire. Secondary outcome is the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs within 30 days post-intervention. Changes in neurobiological behavioural parameters, such as impulse control, reward anticipation, and decision making, are also investigated. Other secondary outcomes regard trait mindfulness, emotion regulation, psychopathological symptoms, peer networks, perceived stress, and quality of life. In addition, a prospective registry will be established to record specific data on the population of 11–17 year old boys with MBID without any alcohol experience. Discussion This study offers the opportunity to gain first evidence of the effectiveness of a mindfulness-oriented program for the prevention of substance use for boys with MBID. Trial registration German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00014042. Registered on March 19th 2018.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-65
Author(s):  
Mohammad Ali Zakeri ◽  
Zohreh Khoshnood ◽  
Mahlagha Dehghan ◽  
Farokh Abazari

Background Adherence to treatment is one of the behaviours associated with successful outcomes following a myocardial infarction, which leads to successful treatment in the disease. Aims This study aimed to investigate the effect of the Continuous Care Model (CCM) on treatment adherence in patients with myocardial infarction. Methods This was a randomised controlled trial performed on 82 patients with myocardial infarction. Convenience sampling was used to select the participants, and then they were allocated into two groups by the stratified random method. In the intervention group, a CCM was implemented. In the intervention group, 4–6 educational sessions (1–2 h) were conducted during one month in the form of spoken questions and answers about the presented subjects. The control group received routine care. A questionnaire of demographic information and treatment adherence was completed by samples in the two groups, intervention and control, before and immediately after training and after follow-up. Results The results of this study showed that treatment adherence was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group immediately after training and after the follow-up phase (three months) ( p < 0.001). Also, diet, drug and physical activity adherence were significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group immediately after training and after follow-up ( p < 0.001). Conclusions Implementation of CCM led to an increase in adherence to the treatment in patients with myocardial infarction. Therefore, it is suggested that this model could be used as a nursing intervention to increase treatment adherence in cardiac-rehabilitation programmes.


Author(s):  
A Tajdini ◽  
N Hatami ◽  
B Rahmaty ◽  
A Kouhi ◽  
S Dabiri ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective To investigate hearing and the take rate of crushed cartilage grafts in tympanoplasty. Methods In this double-blinded, randomised, controlled trial, 46 patients with tympanic membrane perforation were enrolled. A conchal cartilage graft was used for reconstruction in both intervention and control groups. In the intervention group, crushed cartilage was used. The success rate and hearing results were ascertained every four months over a one-year follow-up period. Results A total of 36 patients – 20 in the intervention group and 16 in the control group – completed one year of follow up. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in mean air–bone gap, bone conduction threshold, speech discrimination score or speech reception threshold. Conclusion The reduction in living cells after crushed cartilage tympanoplasty may decrease the rigidity and the volume of the graft, but may not necessarily improve the hearing results.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Kitagawa ◽  
Yuma Aoki ◽  
Hotaka Sugimoto ◽  
Natsumi Ozaki

Abstract Although there are increasing reports on the usefulness of sonopalpation with ultrasound imaging, many previous studies have reported interventions without a control group. This single-blind, parallel group randomised controlled trial aimed to determine whether educational instruction with sonopalpation for medical students has a superior effect on skill improvement than traditional instruction without ultrasonography. Twenty-nine medical students participated in the study and were randomised using block randomisation into an ultrasound imaging group (n = 15) and a control group (n = 14). Then, they underwent three training sessions focusing on the shoulder joint. Participants underwent a scoring assessment of their palpation skills at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up 3 months after training. The raters were blinded to the subjects’ group. The Friedman and Mann–Whitney U tests were used for data analysis. The intervention group showed a significant increase in scores at post-intervention and at the 3-month follow-up when compared with the pre-intervention group (p < 0.05); the effect sizes were large (0.849 and 0.849, respectively). A comparison of the scores at different time points after the intervention at the 3-month follow-up revealed that there was no significant difference between the groups. Education using ultrasound images may improve the sonopalpation skills of medical students.


2019 ◽  
Vol 217 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Priebe ◽  
Agnes Chevalier ◽  
Thomas Hamborg ◽  
Eoin Golden ◽  
Michael King ◽  
...  

BackgroundBefriending by volunteers has the potential to reduce the frequent social isolation of patients with schizophrenia and thus improve health outcomes. However, trial-based evidence for its effectiveness is limited.AimsTo conduct a randomised controlled trial of befriending for patients with schizophrenia or related disorders.MethodPatients were randomised to a befriending programme for 1 year or to receive information about social activities only (trial registration: ISRCTN14021839). Outcomes were assessed masked to allocation at the end of the programme; at 12 months and at a 6-month follow-up. The primary outcome was daily time spent in activities (using the Time Use Survey (TUS)) with intention-to-treat analysis.ResultsA total of 124 patients were randomised (63 intervention, 61 active control) and 92 (74%) were followed up at 1 year. In the intervention group, 49 (78%) met a volunteer at least once and 31 (49%) had more than 12 meetings. At 1 year, mean TUS scores were more than three times higher in both groups with no significant difference between them (adjusted difference 8.9, 95% CI −40.7 to 58.5, P = 0.72). There were no significant differences in quality of life, symptoms or self-esteem. However, patients in the intervention group had significantly more social contacts than those in the control group at the end of the 12-month period. This difference held true at the follow-up 6 months later.ConclusionsAlthough no difference was found on the primary outcome, the findings suggest that befriending may have a lasting effect on increasing social contacts. It may be used more widely to reduce the social isolation of patients with schizophrenia.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Ussher ◽  
Cath Best ◽  
Sarah Lewis ◽  
Jennifer McKell ◽  
Tim Coleman ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundFinancial incentives are an effective way of helping women to stop smoking during pregnancy. Unfortunately, most women who stop smoking at this time return to smoking within 12 months of the infant’s birth. There is no evidence for interventions that are effective at preventing postpartum smoking relapse. Financial incentives provided after the birth may help women to sustain cessation. This randomised controlled trial will assess the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of financial incentives to help women who are abstinent from smoking at end of pregnancy to avoid return to smoking up to 12 months postpartum. MethodsThis is a UK-based, multi-centre, three-arm, superiority, parallel group, individually randomised controlled trial, with 1:1:1 allocation. It will compare the effectiveness of two financial incentive interventions with each other (one intervention for up to three months postpartum offering up to £120 of incentives, the other for up to 12 months postpartum with up to £300 of incentives) and with a no incentives/usual care control group. Eligible women will be between 34 weeks gestation and two weeks postpartum, abstinent from smoking for at least four weeks, have an expired carbon monoxide (CO) reading <4 parts per million (ppm), aged at least 16 years, intend remaining abstinent from smoking after the birth and able to speak and read English. The primary outcome is self-reported, lapse-free, smoking abstinence from the last quit attempt in pregnancy until 12 months postpartum, biochemically validated by expired CO and/or salivary cotinine or anabasine. Outcomes will be analysed by intention-to-treat and regression models used to compare the proportion of abstinent women between the two intervention groups and between each intervention group and the control group. An economic evaluation will assess the cost-effectiveness of offering incentives and a qualitative process evaluation will examine barriers and facilitators to trial retention, effectiveness and implementation. DiscussionThis pragmatic randomised controlled trial will test whether offering financial incentives is effective and cost-effective for helping women to avoid smoking relapse during the 12 months after the birth of their baby. Trial registrationInternational Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number: 55218215. Registered retrospectively on 5 th June 2019.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Singleton ◽  
Angela Rayner ◽  
Bethaney Brant ◽  
Steven Smyth ◽  
Peter-John M. Noble ◽  
...  

AbstractRobust evidence supporting strategies for companion animal antimicrobial stewardship is limited, despite frequent prescription of highest priority critically important antimicrobials (HPCIA). Here we describe a randomised controlled trial where electronic prescription data were utilised (August 2018–January 2019) to identify above average HPCIA-prescribing practices (n = 60), which were randomly assigned into a control group (CG) and two intervention groups. In March 2019, the light intervention group (LIG) and heavy intervention group (HIG) were notified of their above average status, and were provided with educational material (LIG, HIG), in-depth benchmarking (HIG), and follow-up meetings (HIG). Following notification, follow-up monitoring lasted for eight months (April–November 2019; post-intervention period) for all intervention groups, though HIG practices were able to access further support (i.e., follow-up meetings) for the first six of these months if requested. Post-intervention, in the HIG a 23.5% and 39.0% reduction in canine (0.5% of total consultations, 95% confidence interval, 0.4-0.6, P = 0.04) and feline (4.4%, 3.4-5.3, P < 0.001) HPCIA-prescribing consultations was observed, compared to the CG (dogs: 0.6%, 0.5-0.8; cats: 7.4%, 6.0-8.7). The LIG was associated with a 16.7% reduction in feline HPCIA prescription (6.1% of total consultations, 5.3-7.0, P = 0.03). Therefore, in this trial we have demonstrated effective strategies for reducing veterinary HPCIA prescription.


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