Just-in-time delivered planning intervention to enhance assertiveness during conversations at the workplace among apprentices

ISRCTN	ISRCTN98656806
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN98656806
Secondary identifying numbers	16.6.2

Submission date: 03/08/2017
Registration date: 08/08/2017
Last edited: 07/08/2017

Recruitment status: No longer recruiting
Overall study status: Completed
Condition category: Mental and Behavioural Disorders

Prospectively registered

Protocol

Statistical analysis plan

Results

Individual participant data

Record updated in last year

Plain English summary of protocol

Background and study aims
Life skill training typically includes several elements from models of health behaviour change, such as motivation, self-efficacy, and planning processes. However, the effectiveness of these single components within comprehensive programs has not been addressed so far, but could give valuable insights for the development of future digital health behaviour change interventions. Just-in-time interventions provided via mobile devices (i.e., text messages) are intended to help people “in the moment”, and thus have a near-future impact. Implementation intentions (i.e., if-then-plans) are a promising intervention component within digital interventions to increase specific social competencies like assertiveness during conversations at the workplace. However, the effectiveness of this single element within a comprehensive life skills program has not been addressed so far, but could give valuable insights for the development of future interventions. Therefore, the aim of this study is to test the impact of such just-in-time delivered interventions on assertiveness during conversations at the workplace among apprentices.

Who can participate?
Adolescents aged 16 or over who are attending vocational training

What does the study involve?
On six working days, 1 hour before apprentices are on their way to work, participants are randomly allocated to either receive an intervention to receive no intervention. The intervention includes two text messages: one text message where they choose one of two predetermined if-then plans to enhance assertiveness during conversations at the workplace, and another text message prompt to visualize the chosen plan. Assertiveness is assessed 11 hours later in both groups. After a period of at least 2 weeks participants receive the opposite intervention and assertiveness is assessed again.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Assertiveness during conversations at the workplace may be higher after receiving the text message. No risks of participation are expected.

Where is the study run from?
1. Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction (Switzerland)
2. University of Zurich, Applied Social and Health Psychology (Switzerland)

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
August 2017 to December 2018

Who is funding the study?
1. Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction (Switzerland)
2. University of Zurich, Applied Social and Health Psychology (Switzerland)

Who is the main contact?
Dr Theda Radtke
theda.radtke@psychologie.uzh.ch

Contact information

Dr Theda Radtke
Scientific

Binzmühlestrasse 14/14
Zurich
8050
Switzerland

ORCID ID	0000-0003-1228-1834
Phone	+41 (0)44 635 72 55
Email	Theda.Radtke@uzh.ch

Study information

Study design	Micro-randomized controlled trial
Primary study design	Interventional
Secondary study design	Randomised cross over trial
Study setting(s)	Other
Study type	Prevention
Participant information sheet	Not available in web format, please use the contact details to request a patient information sheet
Scientific title	Efficacy of a just-in-time delivered planning intervention to enhance assertiveness during conversations at the workplace among apprentices: a micro-randomized controlled trial
Study acronym	MRCT Assertiveness
Study objectives	1. On days adolescents receive the just-in-time delivered planning intervention, adolescents report higher levels of assertiveness during conservations at the workplace compared to days without the just-in-time delivered planning intervention. 2. Adolescents with higher intentions to enhance their level of assertiveness during conversations at the workplace will benefit from the just-in-time delivered planning intervention to a higher degree compared to adolescents with lower intentions.
Ethics approval(s)	Ethics committee of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Zurich, 26/09/2016, ref. 16.6.2
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied	Assertiveness
Intervention	Participants receive the just-in-time delivered planning intervention to enhance assertiveness during conversations at the workplace when expressing one's own opinion in conversations with others on a working day. The intervention is delivered 1 hour before apprentices are on their way to work. In case of shift work the intervention is delivered at 6am. The study has an AB/BA crossover design, in which each participant receives the intervention and the control in a randomized order. The randomization sequence will be created using computerized random numbers. There is a period of at least 2 weeks between the intervention and control. Intervention points in time include: 1. Assessment of state of receptivity via SMS text message question (“Are you working today?”) on one of their typically indicated working day, one hour before apprentices are on their way to work. 2. Confirmation of receptivity by a text message reply (“Yes”) from the participant. 3. The digital micro intervention where participants can choose one of two predetermined if-then plans to enhance assertiveness during conversations at the workplace via SMS text messaging and another text message prompt to visualize the chosen plan. Control points in time only include 1 and 2. Follow-up assessments will be conducted in both intervention and control points in time 11 hours after the assessment of state of receptivity and the random allocation to one of the two intervention conditions.
Intervention type	Behavioural
Primary outcome measure	Assertiveness during conversations at the workplace when expressing one's own opinion in conversations with others, assessed with one item measure 11 hours after the assessment of state of receptivity and the random allocation to one of the two intervention conditions.
Secondary outcome measures	No secondary outcome measures
Overall study start date	01/05/2017
Completion date	31/12/2018

Eligibility

Participant type(s)	Healthy volunteer
Age group	Mixed
Sex	Both
Target number of participants	130 per condition (including a dropout rate of 30%)
Key inclusion criteria	1. Ownership of a mobile phone 2. A level of assertiveness during conversations at the workplace when expressing one's own opinion in conversations with others that is below 5, measured on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (very low) to 5 (very high) 3. Aged 16 or over
Key exclusion criteria	1. A level of assertiveness during conversations at the workplace when expressing one's own opinion in conversations with others that is 5, measured on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (very low) to 5 (very high) 2. Age < 16 3. No vocational training at intervention day
Date of first enrolment	09/08/2017
Date of final enrolment	31/12/2017

Locations

Countries of recruitment

Switzerland

Study participating centre

Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction

Konradstrasse 32
Zurich
8031
Switzerland

Sponsor information

Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction
University/education

Konradstrasse 32
Zurich
8031
Switzerland

Phone	+41 (0)44 448 11 74
Email	severin.haug@isgf.uzh.ch
Website	www.isgf.ch

University of Zurich
University/education

Applied Social and Health Psychology
Binzmühlestrasse 14/14
Zurich
8050
Switzerland

Phone	+41 (0)44 635 72 55
Email	Theda.Radtke@uzh.ch
Website	http://www.psychologie.uzh.ch/de/fachrichtungen/angsoz.html

University of Zurich
Not defined

Website	http://www.uzh.ch/index_en.html
"ROR"	https://ror.org/02crff812

Funders

Funder type

University/education

Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction

No information available

Universität Zürich
Government organisation / Universities (academic only)

Alternative name(s): University of Zurich, Switzerland, University of Zurich, UZH
Location: Switzerland

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date	31/12/2019
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share	Yes
IPD sharing plan summary	Available on request
Publication and dissemination plan	Planned publication in a psychological peer reviewed journal around one year after the overall trial end date. No other documents will be available.
IPD sharing plan	The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are/will be available upon request from Dr Severin Haug (severin.haug@isgf.uzh.ch). Individual participant data will be available (including data dictionaries). Individual participant data that underlie the results reported in our article, after deidentification (text, tables, figures, and appendices) will be shared. Data will be available beginning 9 months and ending 36 months following article publication. Researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal will be able to get access to the data. Data will be provided for analyses to achieve aims in the approved proposal and for individual participant data meta-analysis. To gain access, data requestors will need to sign a data access agreement.