Mobile-based Online Social Network Intervention to Increase Physical Activity
Condition: Sedentary Lifestyle
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Despite the racial disparities in rates of chronic diseases and behaviors linked to chronic
      diseases, there have been relatively few RCTs of interventions to increase physical activity
      in African American women. Although some studies found significant improvement on physical
      activity, most focused on individuals and did not take into consideration the social contexts
      in which the participants' behaviors occurred. Understanding how online social networks
      facilitate behavior change can bridge important gaps in the way technology can be used to
      intervene on health among underserved populations. The primary objective of this study was to
      test the efficacy of a mobile app (PennFit) intervention in increasing participants' daily
      active minutes objectively recorded by a fitness tracking device (Fitbit zip). In the control
      group, participants used the PennFit app to record and monitor their own physical activity
      progress. In the online social network intervention, participants were randomized to 4-women
      networks and were able to see and compare their own recorded physical activities with
      activities of the other three women in their network. Participants in a network had access to
      an online chatting tool to chat with one another. The secondary objective was to understand
      the intervention's mechanisms through mediation analysis on theoretical variables.
    

Detailed description: 
      Despite the racial disparities in rates of chronic diseases and behaviors linked to chronic
      diseases, there have been relatively few RCTs of interventions to increase physical activity
      in African American women. Although some studies found significant improvement on physical
      activity, most focused on individuals and did not take into consideration the social contexts
      in which the participants' behaviors occurred. A review of qualitative studies of
      physical-activity correlates in African American adults found that both men and women said
      group participation would increase their motivation to exercise, and women said that having a
      physically active partner or friend would facilitate their initiation and maintenance of a
      physical-activity program. For instance, focus groups with African American women suggested
      that having a friend or group to exercise with was motivating and should be considered to be
      an important component of physical activity programs.This finding is consistent with other
      studies identifying social support as encouraging African American women to engage in
      physical activity. While previous research emphasized the effects of social support on
      facilitating physical activity, it is also possible that a lack of social network members
      perceiving physical activity as a normative behavior may contribute to low rates of physical
      activity in African American women. Two correlational research found that social support and
      descriptive norms both predicted physical activity independently . Two experiments found that
      manipulating descriptive norms increased physical activity . The findings suggest creating
      physical activity as a normative behavior within African American women's social networks may
      be an effective way to establish, potentially sustaining physical activity in the long term.

      Young African Americans are heavy users of social networking technologies. In 2013, 96% of
      African Americans aged 18 to 29 used a social networking site of some kind. Understanding how
      online social networks facilitate behavior change can bridge important gaps in the way
      technology can be used to intervene on health among underserved populations. The primary
      objective of this study was to test the efficacy of a mobile app (PennFit) intervention in
      increasing participants' daily active minutes objectively recorded by a fitness tracking
      device (Fitbit zip). In the control group, participants used the PennFit app to record and
      monitor their own physical activity progress. In the online social network intervention,
      participants were randomized to 4-women networks and were able to see and compare their own
      recorded physical activities with activities of the other three women in their network.
      Participants in a network had access to an online chatting tool to chat with one another. The
      secondary objective was to understand the intervention's mechanisms through mediation
      analysis on theoretical variables.
    

Intervention name(s): PennFit mobile individual intervention; PennFit mobile online network intervention
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): PennFit (individual) is a mobile app intervention. Participants received a Fitbit physical activity tracking device and an introductory physical activity promotion session emphasizing the health benefits of physical activity and building skills for daily exercises. Participants used the PennFit app (individual) to record and monitor their own physical activity progress.; PennFit (online network) is a mobile app intervention. Participants received a Fitbit physical activity tracking device and an introductory physical activity promotion session emphasizing the health benefits of physical activity and building skills for daily exercises. Participants used the PennFit app (online network) to record and monitor their own physical activity progress. They could see both their own information and the profiles and activity logs of the three other women assigned to their network. In addition, they could send messages to the network through an instant chatting tool.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Prevention