Positive Online Weight Reduction (POWeR) in the workplace: an observational study of a web and smartphone-delivered weight management intervention

ISRCTN	ISRCTN15997004
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN15997004
Secondary identifying numbers	6155

Submission date: 07/08/2013
Registration date: 18/09/2013
Last edited: 03/03/2017

Recruitment status: No longer recruiting
Overall study status: Completed
Condition category: Nutritional, Metabolic, Endocrine

Prospectively registered

Protocol

Statistical analysis plan

Results

Individual participant data

Plain English summary of protocol

Background and study aims
POWeR stands for Positive Online Weight Reduction. It is a website-based weight management programme, developed by researchers and health professionals at the University of Southampton. The aim of this study is to look at how POWeR is used and whether it helps people to lose weight.

Who can participate?
Adults in participating worksites who are overweight and who have access to the internet on a regular basis

What does the study involve?
Participants register by creating an account with POWeR and complete some brief online questionnaires. They are then granted access to the POWeR website. The POWeR website is a series of online modules which the participant is encouraged to complete on a weekly basis. The POWeR intervention guides and supports users in changing their eating and physical activity. There are no strict dietary or exercise prescriptions; participants set themselves achievable, graded goals. Every session comprises self-monitoring, goal setting and tailored feedback on progress. Additional content of sessions are around topics such as fitting weight management into daily life, emotional triggers for eating and gaining social support. Each session ends with personalised links to good online sources of information and advice about different aspects of weight management. Skills and strategies developed in the sessions are saved for the user to access later - their 'POWeR tools'. Participants who have smartphones can download an accompanying POWeR app to track their goals and progress. After 8 weeks all participants are sent an email asking them to complete some questionnaires about their weight and their experiences of using POWeR. Some users are invited to talk to the researchers by phone in detail about how they got on with POWeR.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Participants who follow the POWeR programme are likely to lose weight in a safe and gradual way. Risks to participants are not expected. Potential users with serious health problems are asked to check with their doctor about the suitability of making dietary and exercise changes before making such changes. Participants are directed to their doctor in the case of any health concerns arising during the study.

Where is the study run from?
The study is run from the University of Southampton but people take part via a website so can do this from their own home, workplace or other convenient location.

Who is funding the study?
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) (UK)

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
October 2012 to December 2015

Who is the main contact?
Dr Laura Dennison
L.K.Dennison@soton.ac.uk

Contact information

Prof Lucy Yardley
Scientific

University of Southampton
Highfield Campus
Southampton
SO17 1BJ
United Kingdom

ORCID ID	0000-0002-3853-883X

Study information

Study design	Observational study
Primary study design	Observational
Secondary study design	Cohort study
Study setting(s)	Internet/virtual
Study type	Treatment
Participant information sheet	No participant information sheet available
Scientific title	Uptake and usage of a web and smartphone-delivered weight management intervention by overweight/obese adults in UK workplaces
Study objectives	This study rolls out a web-based intervention in a real-life context to examine research questions centering around: demographic and employment-related predictors of usage, satisfaction with the web and smartphone elements of the intervention, and the role of the workplace climate in engaging with the intervention, and self-reported weight loss.
Ethics approval(s)	University of Southampton Ethics Committee, 09/05/2013, ref: 5992
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied	Overweight/obesity
Intervention	Web-based intervention is offered to employees in participating UK workplaces. The POWeR website is a series of online modules which the participant is encouraged to complete on a weekly basis. The POWeR intervention guides and supports users in changing their eating and physical activity. Every session comprises self-monitoring, goal setting and tailored feedback on progress. Additional content of sessions are around topics such as fitting weight management into daily life, emotional triggers for eating and gaining social support. Each session concludes with personalised links to good online sources of information and advice about different aspects of weight management. Skills and strategies developed in the sessions are saved for the user to access later; their 'POWeR tools'. Participants who have smartphones can download an accompanying POWeR app to track their goals and progress. Data collection at baseline (registration) and 8 weeks.
Intervention type	Other
Primary outcome measure	Participants' use of POWeR weight management website (objective data, recorded by the online intervention). Data collection at baseline (registration) and 8 weeks.
Secondary outcome measures	Satisfaction with the website and (where relevant) smartphone app Other measures of interest include: 1. Satisfaction with the website (Yardley et al. 2010) 2. Use of the POWeR intervention within the workplace context (questionnaire created specifically for this study) 3. Workplace weight related social norms (Lemmon et al. 2013) 4. Workplace health climate (Ribisl & Reischl, 1993) 5. Self-reported weight loss (kg) Data collection at baseline (registration) and 8 weeks.
Overall study start date	01/10/2012
Completion date	31/12/2015

Eligibility

Participant type(s)	Patient
Age group	Adult
Lower age limit	18 Years
Sex	Both
Target number of participants	The aim is to explore uptake and adherence and their correlates in the context of a real life public health rollout of the intervention. Therefore there is not a minimum or maximum no. of participants.
Key inclusion criteria	1. Adults (male and female), aged 18 or older 2. Self-reported body mass index (BMI) >23 3. Able to access the internet on a regular basis 4. Able and willing to weigh self once per week
Key exclusion criteria	Potential participants with health conditions that influence their diet or physical activity are advised to check with their GP before taking part
Date of first enrolment	01/01/2014
Date of final enrolment	31/12/2014

Locations

Countries of recruitment

England
United Kingdom

Study participating centre

University of Southampton

University Road
Southampton
SO17 1BJ
United Kingdom

Sponsor information

University of Southampton (UK)
University/education

c/o Dr Martina Prude
Research Governance Office
Highfield Campus
Southampton
SO17 1BJ
England
United Kingdom

Website	http://www.southampton.ac.uk/
"ROR"	https://ror.org/01ryk1543

Funders

Funder type

Research council

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council - Project UBhave: ubiquitous and social computing for positive behaviour change, ref: EP/I032673/1
Government organisation / National government

Alternative name(s): UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council - UKRI, Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council, EPSRC
Location: United Kingdom

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date	31/12/2017
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share	Yes
IPD sharing plan summary	Available on request
Publication and dissemination plan	Results from preliminary data analyses have been presented to the academic community at national and international conferences. Data analyses are ongoing and a publication summarising the main findings will be prepared and submitted in due course.
IPD sharing plan	Anonymised participant-level data from the trial will be made available following publication. This data will deposited in the University of Southampton data repository and will be accessible to bona fide researchers on request.

Study outputs

Output type	Details	Date created	Date added	Peer reviewed?	Patient-facing?
Basic results		01/02/2017	03/03/2017	No	No

Additional files

ISRCTN15997004_BasicResults_01Feb17.docx: Uploaded 03/03/2017

Editorial Notes

03/03/2017: The basic results of this trial have been uploaded as an additional file.
18/11/2016: The publication and dissemination plan, availability of participant level data, are target number of participants have been added. In addition, the overall trial dates have been updated from 01/10/2013 - 28/02/2014 to 01/10/2012 - 31/12/2015 and the recruitment dates have been updated from 01/10/2013 - 28/02/2014 to 01/01/2014 - 31/12/2014.