Background In recent years, policymakers have increasingly used behaviourally informed policies, including ‘nudges’. They have been implemented to produce desirable social outcomes such as healthier eating and physical activity. In Germany, a small research team at the Federal Chancellery acts as the central unit to promote the introduction of nudges in the design of public life. Despite this, the nudging concept itself as well as the understanding around it has not spread widely among German citizens. When reporting about the concept, German media is often very critical of the concept. Methods Using a for age, sex and educational level nationally representative online survey with 1000 participants, we investigate whether German citizens know about the concept of nudging. We also explore if they approve of the theoretical concept as well as a list of seven specific interventions regarding healthy eating and physical activity. A particular focus is placed on whether the level of approval is dependent on the target group of the intervention, as well as different intervention-initiators. Results We find that nearly 80% of the respondents have never heard of nudging. However when being provided with a definition, we find that a strong majority (90%) supports the concept of nudging as well as all the specific interventions. Acceptance rates are higher if interventions are targeted at the general population compared to only children. All initiators – statutory health insurers, the government, private companies, and independent experts – are accepted as nudge initiators. Conclusion Amongst Germans nudges are an accepted method to promote health behaviours. Policy makers from various fields in Germany should take that into account to improve future health policy.
Introduction: The majority of people worldwide do not engage in enough physical activity which can have hazardous effects on both individual and public health. Increasing physical activity levels in our daily lives is therefore a key concern within public health initiatives. Making an active choice to take the stairs over alternatives is an effective and freely accessible way to increase daily physical activity. Research has shown that alongside prompts, role models can be influential in increasing stair use among pedestrians. Presently, no research has been conducted comparing the role model effect towards passive and active behaviour. We conducted a pilot study, seeking to confirm the effect of role-models on stair use and also investigating the effect of role-models on escalator use. Method: In the railway station "Zoologischer Garten" in Berlin, a role model either climbed the stairs or took the escalator in front of unknown pedestrians to reach the platform in sequences of 3 minutes. Two researchers counted per intervention-sequence the number of people taking the stairs or the escalator respectively against a control measurement with no intervention. In total pedestrian behaviour was observed over a period of 108 minutes and the choices of a total of 1778 people were recorded. A chi-squared test was used to measure the intervention effects. The effects of role-models on active and passive behaviour were compared. Results: Stair use increased from 29% to 33% in the presence of a stair role model (net increase 14%). Escalator use increased from 71% to 74% in the presence of an escalator role model (net increase 4%). A chi-squared test shows that participants' decisions on whether to take the stairs or the escalator were significantly different depending on the intervention type (Stair-, Escalator-Model, no model) participants were exposed to. Neither of these differences was found to be statistically significant when estimating logistic regression models. Traffic volume was weakly significantly (p < 0.1) linked with an increased likelihood of participants using the stairs when traffic volume increases. Discussion: Role models can impact physical activity levels among citizens on an unconscious and often anonymous level. For public health experts it is important to recognise that people can be nudged by role models both towards passive and active behaviour. This pilot study provides the first evidence of the concept that everyone in society can and should be an effective role model for increasing physical activity levels in our daily lives and should be aware of negative role model effects when demonstrating passive behaviours. This information can be relevant when creating public health messages. Future studies should observe a larger sample size and distinguish between a number of different factors (such as weather, time of day, weekday vs, weekend) that might influence the role model effect on stair or escalator use.
Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Viele Deutsche bewegen sich im Alltag zu wenig, obwohl es ausreichend Möglichkeiten gibt, mehr Bewegung einfach in den Alltag zu integrieren. Gerade Treppen werden häufig „links“ liegen gelassen und die bequemere Variante in Form des Fahrstuhls oder der Rolltreppe bevorzugt. Sogenannte Treppen-Nudges bieten eine gute Möglichkeit, Menschen zur Benutzung der Treppe zu motivieren. Zielstellung Ziel war es daher, in einer Pilotstudie einen effektiven und kosteneffizienten Treppen-Nudge zu entwickeln, zu erproben und im Rahmen einer Ex-Post- und Kontrollstudie zu evaluieren. Methodik Unter dem Slogan #treppegehtimmer wurden humorvolle Sprüche und attraktive Grafiken, die zum Treppensteigen motivierten, vor und an einer Treppe des Berliner S‑Bahnhofs Zoologischer Garten im September/Oktober 2019 für 4 Wochen angebracht. Sowohl an der Interventions- als auch einer Kontrolltreppe, die ebenfalls zur Plattform führte, wurden die Anzahl der Treppengänger*innen sowie der Rolltreppenfahrer*innen vor, während und nach der Intervention, jeweils morgens (8–10 Uhr) und abends (16–18 Uhr) an ausschließlich 2 Wochentagen gemessen. Ergebnisse Durch die Intervention wurde die Rate der Treppengänger*innen im Vergleich zu Rolltreppenfahrer*innen signifikant gesteigert: der Kurzzeiteffekt der Intervention liegt bei einer Odds Ratio (OR) von OR = 1,4305 (p < 0,0001) und der Langzeiteffekt bei OR = 1,4334 (p < 0,0001). Dies bedeutet, dass durch die Intervention umgerechnet täglich etwa 1200 mehr Menschen die Treppe genommen haben. Schlussfolgerung Diese Pilotstudie zeigt, dass #treppegehtimmer nachweislich zu einer Steigerung der Treppengänger*innen führt und damit eine kostengünstige und effektive Möglichkeit zur Förderung von mehr Bewegung im Alltag darstellt. Die Aktion sollte daher ausgeweitet und weiter evaluiert werden.
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