Effects of a smartphone intervention targeting fruit and vegetable consumption

ISRCTN ISRCTN23466915
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN23466915
Secondary identifying numbers N/A
Submission date
04/02/2015
Registration date
12/02/2015
Last edited
13/06/2016
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
High percentages of people do not adhere to the recommendations to eat enough fruit and vegetables. The aim in this study is to apply tailored auditory and textual persuasive health communication to increase fruit and vegetable intake.

Who can participate?
Dutch adults, who own a smartphone (Android) and do not always eat two pieces of fruit and 200 grams of vegetables per day

What does the study involve?
After downloading the smartphone application in Google Play, participants can complete baseline questions about their own health. All questions and stimuli are presented in the smartphone application. Respondents will be randomly allocated to a tailored (textual or auditory) message and additional evaluation measures (intervention group) or measurements at the start and beginning of the study, and they will not have access to the general content of the smartphone application (control group). Additionally, the intervention group will have access to the general smartphone application content (consisting of recipes and additional information). They can also expect reminders during the 6 months of the study to log in again and they will be asked to answer some new questions and read or listen to new information that is added every month to the application. After 6 months, participants will receive an email reminder for the final questionnaire.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Participants will gain an insight into their fruit and vegetable intake, and, in future, persuasive health messages might increase fruit and vegetable intake within a smartphone application. There are no known risks to participants taking part in this study.

Where is the study run from?
Netherlands: University of Groningen and the Netherlands Nutrition Centre

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
October 2013 to June 2014

Who is funding the study?
Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development

Who is the main contact?
Ms Sarah Elbert
Professor Arie Dijkstra

Contact information

Ms Sarah Elbert
Scientific

Faculty Behavioral and Social Sciences
Department of Social Psychology
Grote Kruisstraat 2/1
Groningen
9712 TS
Netherlands

ORCiD logoORCID ID 0000-0001-9722-8076

Study information

Study designInterventional randomised controlled study
Primary study designInterventional
Secondary study designRandomised controlled trial
Study setting(s)Internet/virtual
Study typeOther
Participant information sheet Not available in web format, please use contact details to request a participant information sheet
Scientific titleEffects of a smartphone intervention targeting fruit and vegetable consumption among Dutch adults: a randomised controlled trial
Study objectives1. A tailored health intervention may be more effective than a control in which no health information is given
2. To test the possible difference in effects between the more classic textual mode of communication and the auditory mode of communication (reading versus listening)
Ethics approval(s)Ethical committee of the Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, 05/09/2013, ref: 13012-N
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studiedFruit and vegetable intake in the general population
Intervention1. Text-based and audio-based tailored health information based on psychological factors that are known to predict fruit and vegetable intake
2. Control (no health information)

Respondents will complete baseline and post-test measures at 6-month follow-up (between-participants design).
Intervention typeOther
Primary outcome measureSelf-reported fruit and vegetable intake at 6-month follow-up, measured with a detailed and validated food frequency questionnaire
Secondary outcome measuresAfter the frequency questionnaire on fruit and vegetable intake at 6-month follow-up, questions will be added to evaluate the information and smartphone application as a whole on a range of measures:
1. Personal applicability
2. Novelty
3. Credibility
4. Extent to which it is perceived as intense
5. Usefulness
6. Comprehensibility
7. Visual attractiveness
Overall study start date01/10/2013
Completion date15/06/2014

Eligibility

Participant type(s)Healthy volunteer
Age groupAdult
SexBoth
Target number of participants300+ participants
Key inclusion criteria1. Age 16 years or older
2. Living in the Netherlands
3. Owning an Android device (smartphone or tablet, Android version 2.2 or more) with an installed version of Adobe Air (if necessary, they were automatically directed to Google Play to install it safely)
4. Not yet consuming two pieces of fruit and 200 grams of vegetables per day
Key exclusion criteriaIntolerance to fruit
Date of first enrolment01/10/2013
Date of final enrolment30/11/2013

Locations

Countries of recruitment

  • Netherlands

Study participating centres

Netherlands Nutrition Centre
Den Haag
2517 KL
Netherlands
University of Groningen
Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences
Groningen
9712 TS
Netherlands

Sponsor information

University of Groningen (Netherlands)
University/education

Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences
Department of Social Health Psychology
Grote Kruisstraat 2/1
Groningen
9712 TS
Netherlands

ROR logo "ROR" https://ror.org/012p63287

Funders

Funder type

Research organisation

Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development
Private sector organisation / Other non-profit organizations
Alternative name(s)
Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development
Location
Netherlands

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date31/10/2015
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to shareYes
IPD sharing plan summaryAvailable on request
Publication and dissemination plan1. The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal in the domain of health and internet research (to be selected).
2. The efficacy of the smartphone intervention will be central.
3. The application might be adapted based on the findings and disseminated among the general public at a later stage.
IPD sharing plan

Study outputs

Output type Details Date created Date added Peer reviewed? Patient-facing?
Results article results 10/06/2016 Yes No

Editorial Notes

13/06/2016: Publication reference added.