Incentive Program Leads to Increased Physical Activity in Patients with Ischemic Heart Disease

In a 24-week, randomized trial, a loss-based incentive program motivated patients with ischemic heart disease to engage in more physical activity. The study included 105 patients who were divided into a control group and incentive group, stratified by age (>65 years vs. <65 years). The goal of the study was to increase a participant’s daily steps by 15% (ramp-up phase) each week until they reached 10,000 steps per day, at which point they would enter a maintenance period. In the incentive group, patients were given a wrist-worn monitoring device that tracked daily steps. Each participant in the incentive group was allotted $14 a week in a virtual account, with $2 deducted for each day the patients failed to meet step goals. 

Results showed that the incentive group had a much larger change in mean daily steps than the control group. During the ramp-up phase, patients in the incentive group elevated their mean daily steps from their baseline by 1,131, while patients in the control group increased steps by only 276 steps (P<.001). In the maintenance period, the incentive group had an average change from baseline of 1,445 steps, while the control group saw an increase of just 142 (P<.001). In an 8-week follow up, patients in the incentive group maintained a mean increase in steps of 1,225, while patients in the control group fell to a mean increase of just four steps from baseline readings. 

Source: JAHA