Combining Behavioral Economics-Based Incentives With the Anchoring Strategy: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.
Chad Stecher, Sara Cloonan, Sebastian Linnemayr, Jennifer Huberty
JMIR Research Protocols April 28, 2023 DOI: 10.2196/39930 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Interventions | Mindfulness meditation mobile app Self-monitoring messages Financial incentives |
| Dose | ≥10 minutes per day |
| Duration | 16-week study (8-week intervention, 8-week postintervention observation) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Adherence Habits Intervention Mhealth Management Mindfulness meditation Mobile apps Mobile health Mobile phone Smartphone apps Stress |
| Citations | 2 |
| Registration | NCT05217602 |
| Key findings | The study will test novel combinations of behavioral economics-based incentives with anchoring strategies to improve adherence to app-based mindfulness meditation. |
Abstract
Chronic (ie, long-term) elevated stress is associated with a number of mental and physical health conditions. Mindfulness meditation mobile apps are a promising tool for stress self-management that can overcome several barriers associated with in-person interventions; however, to date, poor app-based intervention adherence has limited the efficacy of these mobile health tools. Anchoring, or pairing, a new behavior with an existing routine has been shown to effectively establish habits that are maintained over time, but this strategy typically only works for those with high initial motivation and has yet to be tested for maintaining meditation with a mobile app. This study will test novel combinations of behavioral economics-based incentives with the anchoring strategy for establishing and maintaining adherence to an effective dose of meditation with a mobile app. This 16-week study will use a 5-arm, parallel, partially blinded (participants only), randomized controlled design. We will implement a fractional factorial study design that varies the use of self-monitoring messages and financial incentives to support participants' use of their personalized anchoring strategy for maintaining adherence to a ≥10 minute-per-day meditation prescription during an 8-week intervention period, followed by an 8-week postintervention observation period. Specifically, we will vary the use of self-monitoring messages of either the target behavior (ie, meditation tracking) or the outcome associated with the target behavior (ie, mood symptom tracking). We will also vary the use of financial incentives conditional on either meditation at any time of day or meditation performed at approximately the same time of day as participants' personalized anchors. Continuous meditation app use data will be used to measure weekly meditation adherence over the 16-week study period as a binary variable equal to 1 if participants complete ≥10 minutes of meditation for ≥4 days per week and 0 otherwise. We will measure weekly anchoring plan adherence as a binary variable equal to 1 if participants complete ≥10 minutes of meditation within +1 or -1 hour of the timing of their chosen anchor on ≥4 days per week and 0 otherwise. In addition to these primary measures of meditation and anchoring plan adherence, we will also assess the secondary measures of stress, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, sleep disturbance, and meditation app habit strength at baseline, week 8, and week 16. This study will fill an important gap in the mobile health literature by testing novel intervention approaches for establishing and maintaining adherence to app-based mindfulness meditation. If successful, this study will identify an accessible and scalable stress self-management intervention that can help combat stress in the United States. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05217602; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05217602. DERR1-10.2196/39930.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cites 10
- The effect of mindfulness meditation on sleep quality: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences December 21, 2018
- Evaluation of Mood Check-in Feature for Participation in Meditation Mobile App Users: Retrospective Longitudinal Analysis JMIR mHealth and uHealth April 23, 2021
- Testing a mindfulness meditation mobile app for the treatment of sleep-related symptoms in adults with sleep disturbance: A randomized controlled trial PLoS One January 7, 2021
- Can a meditation app help my sleep? A cross-sectional survey of Calm users. PLoS One 2021
- The efficacy of mindfulness meditation apps in enhancing users' well-being and mental health related outcomes: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Affective Disorders October 7, 2020
and 5 more in the library