Small Monetary Incentives to Promote Exercise (Exercise4Good; EX4G)
Condition: Obesity; Physical Activity
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This study is for physically inactive adults with an active membership at a Greater
      Providence Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA).

      Participants will receive weekly feedback on their attendance at the YMCA, and will be
      enrolled in the study for 1 year.

      Participants will be assigned to one of three conditions, to either receive weekly: (i)
      monetary incentives, (ii) donations to a charity of their choice, or (iii) feedback only.

      In order to continue to receive incentives, participants must maintain an active membership
      at the YMCA.
    

Detailed description: 
      The investigators propose to conduct a pilot study to test feasibility and proof-of-concept
      for two incentive programs to promote exercise among low-active overweight and obese adults.
      To address weaknesses in the literature, the programs will be (a) conducted in a community
      setting by the Greater Providence YMCAs and (b) financially sustainable, such that they do
      not require removal of the incentives after a specified period of time. In both incentive
      programs, participants will pay the standard monthly YMCA membership fee. In the Rebate
      incentive program, participants will have the opportunity to earn a small monetary incentive
      to exercise for each day that they attend the YMCA (verified by objective swipe-card data),
      with a maximum of 5 exercise sessions being incentivized per week. In the Donation incentive
      program, participants will have the opportunity to earn a small monetary incentive to
      exercise in the form of donations (using the same incentive schedule) to a registered local
      charity of the participant's choice. Thus, the proposed study will compare three experimental
      conditions: (a) Rebate incentives (n=25); (b) Donation incentives (n=25); and (c) Control
      (i.e., no incentives) (n=25). The Primary Aims are to test (1) feasibility of the two
      incentive programs, (2) feasibility of the research methods to evaluate the preliminary
      efficacy of the two incentive programs, and (3) proof-of-concept for the two incentive
      programs (relative to control), through comparison of average number of sessions/week with
      incentives over one year. Secondary outcomes will be self-reported minutes per week of
      exercise over one year. The proposed research will provide a preliminary investigation into
      two community-based, financially sustainable incentive programs to promote exercise for
      adults who are at increased risk for cancer. Positive findings from such a trial would
      provide a fast-track for a community-based ready-to-implement exercise promotion
      intervention. Additionally, such findings would have significant implications for the use of
      financially sustainable incentive programs for exercise through other community organizations
      (e.g., privately-owned health clubs), healthcare organizations, or employers (e.g., employer
      fitness facilities), as well as providing a model for incentive programs for other
      health-related behaviors (e.g., smoking cessation, weight loss).
    

Intervention name(s): Incentives (Rebate); Incentives (Donation); Feedback
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral; Behavioral
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Incentives; Motivation