Work it final presentation ph6570

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WorkIt! TXTA text message-based walking campaign for

urban professional women

Shriya Kothur, Jessica Havlak, Philip Carroll, Monica WilliamsGW School of Public Health and Health Services

Health Problem

42 million women in the US live with cardiovascular disease

Leading cause of death in women

Preventable!

Target Population

Women

Ages 25-45

Working in Washington, DC

Commuting via Metro

Program Objectives

Health Objective: To reduce incidence of cardiovascular disease in the

target audience by 20% in 10 years from intervention initiation.

Behavioral Objective: To increase the number of steps taken weekly by the

target audience by 50% in 12 weeks.

Program Objectives, cont.

Theoretical Basis: Social Cognitive Theory

Communication Objectives: Increase target audience self efficacy to walk 10,000 steps

daily from baseline evaluations by 20% in 2 weeks after intervention initiation.

Increase target audience’s positive outcome expectations that walking 10,000 steps is good for health from baseline evaluations by 25% in 2 weeks after intervention initiation.

Decrease perception of barriers to walking 10,000 steps daily among target audience from baseline evaluations by 20% in 2 weeks after intervention initiation.

Designing Messages

Targeted messages that reflect participants’ attitudes and beliefs about walking

Limited COs to self-efficacy & positive outcome expectations

No more than two messages per day

Interactive messages

Incorporated FitBit wherever possible

Conversational/colloquial tone

Message Library

Based on user feedback, we made the following adjustments to our message library: Limited messages to 1x per day on weekends Included more goal-oriented messages Tweaked messages so they were more encouraging;

less guilt-inducing Added in more specificity

Dissemination Plan

Communication Channels Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram Word of Mouth (Interpersonal) Mass Media Earned & Paid Change Agents Opinion Leaders

3 phases

Horizontal Dissemination

Dissemination Plan

Phase 1 – Two Months Opinion Leaders Change Agents Earned Media Bloggers

Phase 2 – Three Months Trial Period Limited Participation Feedback and Sharing Practices Noted Revisions

Dissemination Plan

Phase 3 - Large Scale Distribution Print Media Advertisement

Washington Post, New York Times Billboards/Posters

Metro, high traffic public transit locations

Pilot Study

4 women recruited

Pre/post surveys used to gather demographics & assess the self-efficacy to walk 10,000 steps, perceived barriers to walking 10,000 steps, & perceived benefits to health from walking 10,000 steps daily

Survey was online via Google Forms

After baseline survey, participants received introductory letter to the program.

Participants were asked to wear the FitBit for two days for baseline walking data.

Participants were asked to wear FitBits for 14 additional days and received 2 text messages/day.

Baseline Assessment

Pre-Assessment No more than 1 text message/day Most were very confident in their ability to walk

during the workday Neutral about their ability to walk 10,000 Perceived cardiovascular benefits of walking were

positive, regardless of weight change Weather, work schedule, & time were the most

common perceived barriers

Post Program Assessment

Overall increase in steps for all participants after the program

Decline in self-efficacy to walk 10,000 steps, reinforced perceived barriers to walking 10,000 steps, & decline perceived benefits to health from walking 10,000 steps daily

However, all agree walking can be beneficial to cardiovascular health regardless of weight change.

Too many text messages delivered during the program

Participant that far exceeded 10,000 steps/day believed time was less of a barrier than those who did not reach 10,000

Recommendations

Train participants more thoroughly in FitBit use and syncing

In person brief about the WorkIt! Text program and how it works with the FitBit

Longer baseline data collection period for more accurate initial walking averages

Incremental increases in goals overtime to decrease feelings of guilt Congratulations you averaged ___ steps this week! Try to

increase your daily average by 1,000. Go to www.WorkITTxt.com for ideas

Recommendations cont.

WorkIt! staff will work with the participants to set realistic goals based on baseline data

Positive reinforcement through interactive messaging at the end of the day and week Did you meet your goal today?

No That’s OK take a few extra laps around the block before bed. Check out www.WorkITTxt.com for tips to increase your steps.

Yes Great Job keep up the good work

Pilot testing of FitBit WorkIt! app for smartphones