CONSORT-EHEALTH Checklist V1.6.2 Report

1b-i) Key features/functionalities/components of the intervention and comparator in the METHODS section of the ABSTRACT “Teams were randomly allocated to receive access to a 50-day online social networking physical activity intervention which included self-monitoring and social elements (“Active Team” Facebook application; n=51 individuals, n=12 teams) or a wait-listed control condition (n=59 individuals, n=13 teams). " 1b-ii) Level of human involvement in the METHODS section of the ABSTRACT “110 adults (mean age 35.6, SD 12.4 y) were recruited online in teams of 3-8 friends. Teams were randomly allocated to receive access to a 50-day online social networking physical activity intervention which included self-monitoring and social elements (“Active Team” Facebook application; n=51 individuals, n=12 teams) or a wait-listed control condition (n=59 individuals, n=13 teams). Assessments were undertaken online at baseline, 8 weeks and 20 weeks. ” 1b-iii) Open vs. closed, web-based (self-assessment) vs. face-to-face assessments in the METHODS section of the ABSTRACT “110 adults (mean age 35.6, SD 12.4 y) were recruited online in teams of 3-8 friends.Assessments were undertaken online at baseline, 8 weeks and 20 weeks. ” 1b-iv) RESULTS section in abstract must contain use data Mentioned in methods section of abstract: “110 adults (mean age 35.6, SD 12.4 y) were recruited online in teams of 3-8 friends. Teams were randomly allocated to receive access to a 50-day online social networking physical activity intervention which included self-monitoring and social elements (“Active Team” Facebook application; n=51 individuals, n=12 teams) or a wait-listed control condition (n=59 individuals, n=13 teams). ” 1b-v) CONCLUSIONS/DISCUSSION in abstract for negative trials N/A – primary outcome changed in short term: “At 8 week follow up, the intervention participants had significantly increased their total weekly MVPA by 135 minutes relative to the control group (P = 0.03), due primarily to increases in walking time (155 min/week increase relative to controls; P < .001). ” INTRODUCTION 2a-i) Problem and the type of system/solution The introduction explains that physical activity is a major public health concern and that population-level interventions, such as web-based physical activity interventions, are required to address this: "Physical inactivity is a leading modifiable cause of death and disease worldwide and causes as many deaths as smoking [1]. Just 30 minutes a day of moderate intensity physical activity halves the risk of leading causes of morbidity and mortality, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity, and reduces the risk of breast and bowel cancer, depression and anxiety [2]. Despite this, many people in developed countries are insufficiently active to achieve these benefits. For example, in Australia, an estimated 67% of adults get less than 30 minutes physical activity a day [3]. Populationbased interventions are needed to assist the general adult population to become more physically active. Web-based physical activity interventions offer an opportunity to reach a large number of people at relatively low cost. Systematic reviews and metaanalyses of web-based physical activity interventions demonstrate they are effective in changing behavior [4, 5], however, typically have not been adopted by large numbers of users and appear to have difficulty sustaining user engagement over an extended period [4, 5]. New intervention approaches capitalizing on recent technology trends, such as online social networks and gamification, may assist in overcoming these issues. " 2a-ii) Scientific background, rationale: What is known about the (type of) system "Online social networks reportedly account for one-quarter of all time spent online [6, 7], and appear to offer considerable potential for delivery of public health campaigns, for several reasons. First, they can reach very large audiences (e.g., Facebook, the world’s largest social networking website, had 1.32 billion unique users each month as of June 2014) [8]. Second, messages can be delivered via existing contacts, which may be more influential than health messages delivered via traditional marketing strategies [9]. Third, unlike traditional web-based interventions [4], online social networks typically achieve high levels of user engagement and retention [10]. Another online trend that has emerged in recent years is “gamification”. Gamification refers to the application of videogame elements, such as fun, challenges, competition and rewards, in non-gaming situations [11]. In the commercial sector, such techniques have reported to markedly increase engagement (e.g., a software company reported an 8-fold increase in user engagement after introduction of gamification features) [12]. A recent systematic review of health behavior change interventions delivered using online social networks [13] found that compared to studies which did not incorporate gamification features, the one study that did (in the form of competition between users [14]) achieved substantially larger intervention effects and higher levels of user engagement. To date, only a handful of studies have attempted to use existing popular online social network platforms (such as Facebook and Twitter) to intervene on physical activity. The most common approach has been the use of a Twitter feed or private Facebook groups to share content regarding physical activity and facilitate discussion between study participants [13]. In most cases, the online social network intervention has been provided as a component, complementing a more comprehensive intervention package, for example, involving access to a physical activity self-monitoring website with personalized feedback from a health professional [15]; provision of pedometer, digital scales, cooking equipment and personalized feedback [16]; or access to a series of podcasts, advice from an expert moderator, and a calorie counting application (app) [17]. To our knowledge, only one previous study [14] has utilized a Facebook app (i.e., software created by third party developers to function within the Facebook platform and access data in Facebook) to intervene on physical activity. " METHODS 3a) CONSORT: Description of trial design (such as parallel, factorial) including allocation ratio “The primary objective of the study was to determine whether a team-based 50-day social networking physical activity intervention delivered via a Facebook app and incorporating gamification features was effective in changing weekly moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in adults aged 1865 y. The secondary objectives were 1) to determine whether the intervention impacted other physical activity (weekly walking, vigorous physical activity and moderate physical activity time), and quality of life (in particular, mental quality of life), 2) to determine usage, and 3) to examine the feasibility of the online intervention. ”