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ID
Source
Brief title
Health condition
N.A.
Sponsors and support
Intervention
Outcome measures
Primary outcome
- User experience and perceptions of the PAUL apps
- Usage of the PAUL apps
- PA behavior measured by an accelerometer and by the PAUL app.
Secondary outcome
- Evaluation of the RL model
- Acceptance rate and appreciation of the reminders
- Determinants of PA behavior (e.g. intrinsic motivation)
- Evaluation of the study protocol
- Evaluation of the study material (i.e. potential bugs in the PAUL app)
Background summary
Rationale: Although self-regulatory physical activity (PA) mHealth applications have the potential to motivate individuals to engage in regular PA, it is not well understood which features determine effectiveness and engagement level. One method that is theorized to enhance self-regulation apps is the use of personalized just-in-time prompts, in which the user receives a reminder ‘at the right time’ to persuade the user to engage in PA. With the artificial intelligence advances, it is now possible to build such ‘smart’ tools. Critical to development of effective PA apps is to gain insights into the perceptions of the end-users regarding the applications.
Aim: The overall objective is to examine feasibility of two versions of the PAUL app: a self-regulation app (basic PAUL) and a self-learning app with just-in-time reminders (smart PAUL). To this end, we will examine (1) the user experience of the two versions of the PAUL app; (2) the user engagement as a behavior of the two versions of the PAUL app; (3) the physical activity behavior of the participants before and during the use of the the PAUL apps and (4) examine how the reinforcement learning algorithm learns to optimize the timing of the reminders for the individual users. A secondary objective of the study is to examine if the recruitment, randomization, treatment and follow-up assessments processes of the trial are feasible for a larger trial.
Methodology: Approximately 25 healthy Dutch adults living in Amsterdam or Utrecht (18-55 years old) will participate in this mixed methods randomized trial (running from the start of November till January 2020). The intervention includes a one week pre-post accelerometer measurement, a 4-week intervention in which the users are randomly assigned to use either Basic PAUL or Smart PAUL, questionnaires to determine the user experience, socio-demographics and determinants of PA behaviour, and a semi-structured exit interview. An independent t-test will be performed to explore the differences between the Basic and Smart app in behavioural engagement, and user experience questionnaires (if the assumptions for a t-test are met). The exit interviews will be analysed with Atlas.ti, while using the framework approach.
Study objective
H1: The two versions of PAUL are perceived at least moderately useful in user friendliness, attractiveness, satisfaction and usefulness;
H2: Individuals who use Smart PAUL are more engaged with the app than individuals who use Basic PAUL;
H4: Compared to the individuals who use Basic PAUL, individuals who use Smart PAUL perform more frequent PA with the app and for a longer duration;
H3: Compared to the individuals who use Basic PAUL, individuals who use Smart PAUL interact more frequent and faster with the reminders.
We also expect feedback of the users regarding the design and implementation of the PAUL apps based on the exit interview.
Study design
- Screening by online questionnaire: up to 10 minutes
- Baseline questionnaire: between 10 and 15 minutes
- Baseline accelerometer measurement: 1 week (7 days)
- Intervention: 4 weeks (days 28 days), of which individuals have to wear the accelerometer in the last week
- Exit questionnaire: Around 15 minutes
- Exit interviews will be held within 3 weeks of the end of the intervention (excluding the Christmas Holiday break): about 20 minutes
Intervention
Smart PAUL and Basic PAUL
Inclusion criteria
- Aged between 18 and 55 years
- Living close (≤5 km, 20 min cycling) from either park Transwijk (Utrecht, Netherlands), Oosterpark (Amsterdam, Netherlands) or Sloterplas (Amsterdam, Netherlands),
- Do not meet the PA guidelines of 150 min/week PA (measured by stages of change questionnaire) and/or wish to become more physically active
Exclusion criteria
- If they have a medical condition preventing them to perform PA (defined by PAR-Q)
- Do not own an Android Smartphone
- Are currently participating in another PA or health related intervention
- Have no proficient knowledge of the Dutch language.
Design
Recruitment
IPD sharing statement
Plan description
1. For verification purposes. If other researchers aim to verify the results, no personal data will be shared. Thus, it will not be possible to trace the data back to the participants. The data can be shared via a secured server of the Utrecht University (YODA), which has an option to provide access to the data to selected individuals.
2. The results of the exit interviews. We will likely report quotes of participants in future publications and presentations. These quotes will be pseudonymized.
Followed up by the following (possibly more current) registration
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Other (possibly less up-to-date) registrations in this register
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In other registers
| Register | ID |
|---|---|
| NTR-new | NL8166 |
| Other | ETC Bèta Geo of the University of Utrecht : Geo S-19216 |