Feasibility of an Internet Physical Activity Intervention

Abstract

The Internet is a relatively new method of delivering strategies for health behavior change. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of delivering a physical activity intervention by the Internet to improve outcomes in adults with the metabolic syndrome. Twenty-two participants (16 males; 6 females) were recruited from a cardiology clinic database, age range 32-66 years. Participants were randomly assigned to the Internet intervention (n = 12) or the usual care ( n = 10) group. The mean total dose, in terms of the time the intervention Web site was accessed was 2 hours over 6 weeks, which was greater than the time spent delivering usual care. Overall, participants' evaluations of the Internet intervention were positive. The costs of development and delivery of the Internet intervention were less than that of a consultation and follow-up in the cardiology clinic for this sample. The Internet intervention appears feasible for testing in a larger study.

‘Red Ruby’: an interactive web-based intervention for lifestyle modification on metabolic syndrome: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

“…The study by Bosak et al showed that web-based intervention to increase physical activity in people with metabolic syndrome appears feasible [22]. Recent evidence support that lifestyle interventions including physical activity and low-calorie diet might lead to at least 10% weight loss [88].…”

“…A web-based intervention provides easily access to evidence-based content in every time and makes it feasible to increase tremendously the number of people reached to information [20, 22, 23]. According to Barak et al a web-based intervention is: ‘a primarily self-guided intervention program that is executed by means of a prescriptive online program operated through a website and used by consumers seeking health- and mental-health related assistance’ [24].…”

Practical Guidelines for Development of Web-Based Interventions

“…These types of interventions would be meaningful for users with time and geographic restrictions 1,17-19 because they make it possible for researchers to reach a large number of participants without any time and geographical limitations. 20,21 In addition, Webbased interventions are meaningful for people with mobility and speech limitations, allowing them easy access to the …”

“…[23][24][25][26][27][28] Moreover, Web-based interventions provide flexibility for users to control content, time, location, speed, and learning schedule. 21,[29][30][31] They allow the researchers to easily update and modify the content of the interventions 32,33 and to use various multimedia functions (eg, sound, image, and animations) in order to attract potential participants. 18,19 Subsequently, some studies reported the effectiveness of Web-based interventions in facilitating users' learning experience, 21,29-31 which could be another meaningful use of the interventions.…”

“…However, studies confirmed that the cost required for intervention implementation was usually lower than medical costs such as fees for medical consultation and for a clinic visit. 21 Moreover, researchers reported that Web-based interventions could be cost-effective because they lower costs related to in-person education. 19,33,59 In addition, Web-based interventions could lower healthcare providers' workload.…”