The Protocol and Feasibility Results of a Preliminary Instagram-Based Physical Activity Promotion Study

Background: Social media-based interventions are commonly used mode of delivery for physical activity promotion interventions. Instagram is an understudied social media platform and our purpose was to describe a detailed study protocol and report the feasibility of an Instagram-based physical activity promotion intervention. Method: Participants (n = 45) were recruited and randomized to follow one of three Instagram accounts for 3 months. The groups included a control, a popular fitness account, and two intervention groups. Participants were asked to complete weekly surveys for four weeks, at a 2-month follow up, and at a 3-month follow up. Participants were incentivized by being entered into a drawing for a free wearable activity monitor. Results: The intervention rate was 40% while the retention rate after four weeks was 33.3% and 22.2% after three months. Participants in the intervention groups reported higher education from the study account, enjoyment, and satisfaction. Conclusion: Although the study was well-received, more research is needed to determine how to increase retention within an Instagram-based intervention. Researchers should consider methods for participant identification, variations of interactive content, and extending the intervention period when designing their own study.

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Framing Social Comparison Feedback With Financial Incentives for Physical Activity Promotion: A Randomized Trial

Journal of Physical Activity and Health ◽

10.1123/jpah.2019-0313 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (6) ◽

pp. 641-649

Author(s):

Mitesh S. Patel ◽

David A. Asch ◽

Roy Rosin ◽

Dylan S. Small ◽

Scarlett L. Bellamy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Randomized Trial ◽

Social Comparison ◽

Financial Incentives ◽

Physical Activity Promotion ◽

Intervention Period ◽

Activity Data ◽

Activity Promotion ◽

Steps Per Day

Background: Social comparison feedback is often used in physical activity interventions but the optimal design of feedback is unknown. Methods: This 4-arm, randomized trial consisted of a 13-week intervention period and 13-week follow-up period. During the intervention, 4-person teams were entered into a weekly lottery valued at about $1.40/day and contingent on the team averaging ≥7000 steps per day. Social comparison feedback on performance was delivered weekly for 26 weeks, and varied by reference point (50th vs 75th percentile) and forgiveness in use of activity data (all 7 d or best 5 of 7 d). The primary outcome was the mean proportion of participant-days achieving the 7000-step goal. Results: During the intervention period, the unadjusted mean proportion of participant-days that the goal was achieved was 0.47 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.38 to 0.56) in the 50th percentile arm, 0.38 (95% CI: 0.30 to 0.37) in the 75th percentile arm, 0.40 (95% CI: 0.31 to 0.49) in the 50th percentile with forgiveness arm, and 0.47 (95% CI: 0.38 to 0.55) in the 75th percentile with forgiveness arm. In adjusted models during the intervention and follow-up periods, there were no significant differences between arms. Conclusions: Changing social comparison feedback did not impact physical activity.

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Online social media and physical activity promotion

Technology in Physical Activity and Health Promotion ◽

10.4324/9781315526171-5 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 88-105

Author(s):

Jung Eun Lee ◽

Zan Gao

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Social Media ◽

Physical Activity Promotion ◽

Online Social Media ◽

Activity Promotion

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An intervention of physical activity promotion in an university hospital. A prospective cohort study

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa166.373 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

J Ladner ◽

S D Mihailescu ◽

D Cerasuolo

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Health Workers ◽

Public Health Intervention ◽

Physical Activity Promotion ◽

University Hospital ◽

Activity Promotion ◽

The Mean ◽

High Level ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background Rouen University Hospital implements a policy of health promotion hospital since 2016. The objective of this study was to evaluate prospectively the impact of physical activity promotion in hospital health workers (HW), using pedometers over a period of six months. Methods Physical activity was measured by electronic pedometers distributed to HW, with the aim to improve their physical activity and to measure it during six months. Online questionnaires collected at different points of follow-up, from inclusion to sixth month (a total of seven points of follow-up). Socio-demographic and characteristics on type of health work were collected as well as the number of steps and the behavior regarding their routine physical activity. Results A total of 680 HW were included in the cohort. The sex ratio M:W was 0.16. The mean age was 41.6 years (SD = 10.7). 44.0% were non-medical caregivers, 32.1% were in administrative section, 14.3% were technical workers and 9.7% were physicians or pharmacists; 53.7% of HW reported doing sport regularly. At inclusion the mean number of daily steps was 8662. The mean progression for all professional profiles between first week and sixth month was of 1082 steps daily, with difference according to position: 1319 in physicians, 1234 in non-medical caregivers, 1106 in administrative workers and 314 in technical workers. In linear regression model, the mean number of progression of daily steps was 964 in physicians, 752 in non-medical caregivers. Conclusions The study shows a significant increase in the number of daily steps measured objectively using an incentive tool, as pedometer during six months of intervention. Further researches are needed to determine if these changes are sustainable over a long period of time Key messages Despite high level of daily steps at baseline, the longitudinal study shows an increase of daily steps over a 6-month period. Such public health intervention is a relevant method to engage people in self-monitoring their physical activity.

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Exploring the impact of the ‘new’ ParticipACTION: overview and introduction of the special issue

Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada ◽

10.24095/hpcdp.38.4.01 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 38 (4) ◽

pp. 153-161 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Guy Faulkner ◽

Lira Yun ◽

Mark S. Tremblay ◽

John C. Spence

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Physical Activity Promotion ◽

Population Based ◽

Organizational Level ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Marketing Organization ◽

Individual Level ◽

Activity Promotion ◽

The Impact

ParticipACTION is the Canadian physical activity communications and social marketing organization first launched in the fall of 1971 and then ceased operations in 2001. ParticipACTION was relaunched in 2007. Framed as a public health natural experiment, evidence was collected from a population-based survey of knowledge, awareness, understanding of physical activity, and physical activity levels among Canadians (individual level), and key informant surveys and interviews examining capacity, readiness and advocacy for physical activity promotion among physical activity organizations (organizational level). The purpose of this paper is to first provide an overview of some of the major initiatives undertaken by the ‘new’ ParticipACTION that may have contributed to any changes at these individual or organizational levels. Second, the paper sets the stage for the three empirical papers in this special series reporting follow-up results.

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Social Media Chatbot for Increasing Physical Activity: Usability Study

10.3233/shti210604 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Dillys Larbi ◽

Elia Gabarron ◽

Kerstin Denecke

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Clinical Trial ◽

Social Media ◽

Large Population ◽

Physical Activity Promotion ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Usability Study ◽

Self Help ◽

Activity Promotion

Fully automated self-help interventions integrated with social media chatbots could serve as highly cost-effective physical activity promotion tools for a large population. We have developed MYA, a Telegram-based chatbot for increasing physical activity. The objective of this study was to assess the usability of MYA. To identify usability issues, we recruited volunteers and asked them to interact with MYA and to answer the Chatbot Usability Questionnaire. Thirty volunteers participated in the study, 83.3% agreed MYA was welcoming during initial setup and 63.3% agreed MYA was very easy to use. MYA was perceived as realistic and engaging, easy to navigate, and its responses were useful, appropriate, and informative (all 53.3%). However, 63.3% of respondents agreed MYA failed to recognize most of their inputs, and 43.3% claimed it would be easy to get confused when using MYA. Although the results are encouraging, it remains unclear if a social media chatbot can motivate people to increase their physical activity. MYA has the potential to do that, with improvements in functionalities like challenge personalization. The efficacy of these approaches should be studied in a clinical trial.

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Whole family-based physical activity promotion intervention: the Families Reporting Every Step to Health pilot randomised controlled trial protocol

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2019-030902 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (10) ◽

pp. e030902 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Justin M Guagliano ◽

Helen Elizabeth Brown ◽

Emma Coombes ◽

Elizabeth S Haines ◽

Claire Hughes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Pilot Trial ◽

Family Members ◽

Physical Activity Promotion ◽

Activity Promotion ◽

Ethical Approval ◽

Family Based ◽

Randomised Controlled

IntroductionFamily-based physical activity (PA) interventions present a promising avenue to promote children’s activity; however, high-quality experimental research is lacking. This paper describes the protocol for the FRESH (Families Reporting Every Step to Health) pilot trial, a child-led family-based PA intervention delivered online.Methods and analysisFRESH is a three-armed, parallel-group, randomised controlled pilot trial using a 1:1:1 allocation ratio with follow-up assessments at 8 and 52 weeks postbaseline. Families will be eligible if a minimum of one child in school Years 3–6 (aged 7–11 years) and at least one adult responsible for that child are willing to participate. Family members can take part in the intervention irrespective of their participation in the accompanying evaluation and vice versa.Following baseline assessment, families will be randomly allocated to one of three arms: (1) FRESH; (2) pedometer-only or (3) no-intervention control. All family members in the pedometer-only and FRESH arms receive pedometers and generic PA promotion information. FRESH families additionally receive access to the intervention website; allowing participants to select step challenges to ‘travel’ to target cities around the world, log steps and track progress as they virtually globetrot. Control families will receive no treatment. All family members will be eligible to participate in the evaluation with two follow-ups (8 and 52 weeks). Physical (eg, fitness and blood pressure), psychosocial (eg, social support) and behavioural (eg, objectively measured family PA) measures will be collected at each time point. At 8-week follow-up, a mixed methods process evaluation will be conducted (questionnaires and family focus groups) assessing acceptability of the intervention and evaluation. FRESH families’ website engagement will also be explored.Ethics and disseminationThis study received ethical approval from the Ethics Committee for the School of the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Cambridge. Findings will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications, conferences and to participating families.Trial registration numberISRCTN12789422

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Engaging Social Media Users with Health Education and Physical Activity Promotion

Studies in Health Technology and Informatics - Public Health and Informatics ◽

10.3233/shti210283 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Elia Gabarron ◽

Dillys Larbi ◽

Eirik Årsand ◽

Rolf Wynn

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Social Support ◽

Social Media ◽

Health Education ◽

Physical Activity Promotion ◽

Network Support ◽

Activity Promotion ◽

To Receive ◽

Tangible Assistance ◽

Media Channel

Health-dedicated groups on social media provide different contents and social support to their peers. Our objective is to analyze users’ engagement with health education and physical activity promotion posts according to the expressed social support and social media. All health education and physical activity promotion posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram during 2017–2019 by a diabetes association were extracted. We identified the type of social support within these posts; and analysed the users’ engagement with these posts according to the type of social support and social media channel. A total of 260 posts dealing with health education (n=200) and physical activity promotion (n=60) were published. Posts promoting physical activity received 54% more likes than posts on health education (p<0.05), but they were 69% less likely to receive comments and be shared (both p<0.01). Posts expressing tangible assistance received 6 times more likes (p<0.001), and the ones indicating network support almost 11 times more shares (p<0.05). Posts expressing two or more types of social support were the most engaging (3 times more likes, 2 times more comments, and over 6 times more shares, all p<0.001). Health-dedicated social media groups can be effective channels for providing health education and for promoting physical activity among individuals with diabetes. Our findings suggest that engagement with health education and physical activity promotion posts can be increased by providing tangible assistance, network support, or expressing two or more types of social support; and by posting on Facebook and Instagram.

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Epidemiology and prevention of injuries in young sportsmen. A 35 year observational study of the sport and art classes in the Canton of Geneva

Swiss Sports & Exercise Medicine ◽

10.34045/ssem/2015/16 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 63 (3) ◽

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Sports Medicine ◽

Performance Enhancement ◽

Physical Activity Promotion ◽

Training Time ◽

Activity Promotion ◽

Sporting Activities ◽

Athletic Development

Injury prevention is a priority in the field of sports medicine and in physical activity promotion, in particular for youth. Injuries can lead to long term handicaps and disengagement from physical activity. The follow up of young sportsmen in the canton of Geneva over the last 35 years has permitted to get an idea of the prevalence of injuries in young sportsmen and allows a comparison with the general population. It has also permitted to get an idea of the influence prevention has had on injuries. We found that injuries were not significantly different in youth sportsmen (0.27 injuries/child/year) than in the general age matched population, but that injury’s among sporting youth occurred mainly during their sporting activities. Traditional prevention did not decrease injury prevalence but reduced the proportion of overuse injuries. Since performance level and training time increased over the study period, without a concomitant increase in injury’s, it can be hypothesized that prevention contributed to performance enhancement. The concept of a learning effect, or the preventive influence, of an injury is evoked. The idea that injuries are part of athletic development (performance) and might not be reducible below a certain threshold is also discussed.

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