STEPITUP Text4Steps

TERRA GORE

LAURA FRANK

BRITTNEY LEE

NICOLE LONG

AUDREY PERNIK

#STEPITUP

CDC Fact Sheet:

•Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men in the US, killing 307,225 men in 2009—that’s 1 in every 4 male deaths.

•Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men of most racial/ethnic groups in the US

Risk Factors include:

• Diabetes

• Overweight and obesity

• Poor diet

• Physical inactivity

• Excessive alcohol use

HEALTH ISSUE: HEART DISEASE

#STEPITUP

22-32 year- old males who live or work in the Washington, DC metro area who exercise less than 150 minutes a week.

TARGET AUDIENCE

INTERVENTION OBJECTIVES

Health objective:

Improve the cardiovascular health of 22 - 32 year old males in Washington, DC.

Behavioral objective:

Increase the number of minutes of moderate to vigorous walking completed each week by 50% over 6 months among 22-32 year old males in Washington, DC who do not currently meet IOM’s recommended physical activity guidelines.

#STEPITUP

#STEPITUP

HEALTH BELIEF MODELTheory Components Related to Target Audience

• Perceived Susceptibility to a disease or problem

• Perceived Severity of the disease or problem

• Perceived Benefits of taking action

• Perceived Barriers to taking action

• Exposure to cues to action

• Perceived self-efficacy

Might I be at risk for developing heart disease?

Do I believe heart disease is a serious problem?

If I add more physical activity to my day, would I reduce my risk or even prevent heart disease?

Does my lifestyle make it difficult for me to engage in physical activity?

Are there messages and reminders available ?

Am I confident that I can add steps (figuratively and literally) to my day to reduce my risk for heart disease?

#STEPITUP

• Within one month, increase target audience’s awareness of the risk factors of heart disease, including lack of physical activity, by 65%.

• Within two weeks, increase the target audiences beliefs in the value of incorporating more physical activity (steps) into their daily routine  as a way to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease.

• Within two weeks, the target audience’s will increase their knowledge of the ways to incorporate more walking/steps into their daily lifestyle by 50% via text messaging intervention.

COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES

#STEPITUP

Number of texts we sent each day: 4-6 texts/day

Examples

With each flight climbed you are decreasing your chances of developing: heart disease, prostate cancer, diabetes, sleep apnea, depression, back pain, impotence, gallstones, joint problems, high blood pressure, low sperm counts, and an impressive collection of prescription-drug bottles. #StepitUp

StepitUp: Congratulations! You made it to Week 2 of the #StepitUp Challenge.  Ready to see your name on top of that leaderboard? Today's challenge is reaching 10,000 steps for a 2nd day in a row.  Ready. Set. GO!

StepitUp: Ready for your next challenge? Text A for Distance, B for Stairs Climbed, C for Calories Burned, D for Distance and Stairs Climbed, or E for Turbo Stairs Climbed

TEXT MESSAGE LIBRARY:

#STEPITUP

TEXT MESSAGE LIBRARY: SAM SCORE

Our message library scored an 88 %.

Readability grade: 3

Number of sentences Syllabus First 100 words 9.4 136 Second 100 words 14.2 119 Third 100 words 13.1 117 Total/3 36.7/3=12.2 372/3=124

*Referenced Fry graph for final score of 3

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Quantitative data from pre-post surveys

Limitations

• Small sample size

• Convenience sample was slightly more active than target

• Unable to accurately assess number of steps because participants did not sync FitBits

TRIAL RESULTS

Increased Decreased Remained Same

Perceived susceptibility Knowledge Self-efficacy

Perceived severity

Perceived benefits

Perceived barriers

Cues to action

#STEPITUP

PROGRAM EVALUATION

#STEPITUP

Tailor challenges, goals, and timing of messages more specifically to each individual.

Add reminders to sync the FitBit device.

Keep the challenge aspect, both through individual personal challenges and the group leaderboard

Give more information about the link between lack of physical activity and cardiovascular problems to increase perceived susceptibility.

Focus more on increasing knowledge through occasional messages that mention recommendations about weekly minutes of exercise.

Because the program seemed to increase perceived barriers, include more specific tips on how to overcome time/access barriers and motivate oneself during a period of discouragement or fatigue.

A “peer voice” could be incorporated into the text messaging campaign in the future.

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