Fruits and Vegetables Incentives Study
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
The goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of financial incentives delivered in real-time at point of purchase, on low-income consumers' purchase of fruits and vegetables, fruits and vegetables consumption, diet quality, and weight/BMI. The study will test real-time incentives compared to a no-incentive control condition.
| Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
|---|---|---|
|
N/A |
Detailed Description
To address diet quality disparities in low-income families, policy makers and health experts recommend strategies such as financial incentives to promote consumption of fruits and vegetables. Real-time incentives for purchasing fruits and vegetables are promising strategies to improve families' diets and health.
The aims of the study are:
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To test the effects of financial incentives, delivered in real-time at the point of purchase, on low-income consumer purchases of fruits and vegetables
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To evaluate the impact of real-time financial incentives compared to a control condition on FV consumption among adults and their children ,shopping habits, home food environments, diet quality, and weight/BMI
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To adapt mobile platform technology to provide regular feedback to participants to motivate use of the incentive program to increase purchases and consumption of fruits and vegetables
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To evaluate participant satisfaction with real-time healthy food choice incentives technology in both SNAP participants and income-eligible non-SNAP participants
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To assess the acceptability and ease of use of real-time healthy food choice incentives technology among retails supermarket managers and staff in low-income neighborhoods.
Study Design
Arms and Interventions
| Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|---|
| Experimental: Real-Time Incentives Group Each participant will be randomized using a blocking procedure (SNAP participant or not). The intervention will last 6 months and consist of receiving real-time financial incentives at the point of purchase for eligible fruits and vegetables purchases. |
Behavioral: Real-Time Incentives Group
The use of a novel computer program with a mobile phone interface to provide real-time financial incentives at the point of purchase for discounts on fruit and vegetables in low-income families. This intervention will be applied to subjects randomized to the intervention arm. They will receive 50% off eligible fruits and vegetable products at the point of purchase, up to $10 a week for 6 months. Maximum amount they can receive is $260 in discounts over the 6 month period.
|
| No Intervention: Control Group No intervention administered. Each participant will be randomized using a blocking procedure (SNAP participant or not). |
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- Average weekly fruits and vegetables purchases [up to 8 months]
Fruits and vegetables purchases will be provided by Solutran analytics, our partner that will be delivering the incentives and providing weekly purchase data, and self-reported purchase data. Only eligible fruits and vegetables products (fresh and select frozen and canned FV) will be included in the primary outcome data. FV purchases will be measured by type of FV in pounds, and converted into servings as defined as edible cup equivalents using USDA Economic Research Service estimates.
- Average weekly fruits and vegetables expenditures [up to 8 months]
Weekly expenditures provided by Solutran analytics on fruits and vegetables (in dollars) will be computed.
- Average weekly incentives earned [up to 8 months]
Weekly incentives earned (in dollars) provided by Solutran analytics will be computed.
Secondary Outcome Measures
- Dietary changes for each adult participant and one child in their household [Baseline, 6 months, 8 months]
FV consumption and high sugar/ fat food, and sugary beverage intake will be assessed using the Dietary Screener Questionnaire from NHANES (National Healthy and Examination Survey) 2009-2010
- Changes in dietary habits and food environments [Baseline, 6 months, 8 months]
A Food shopping and food environment survey will ask about perceived availability, cost and quality of FVs at stores, the home food environment (both healthy and unhealthy foods), shopping habits and where they shop, FV practices for children in the home, and FV preparation and consumption patterns. This survey is a modified version of the NEMS-P (Nutrition Environment Measures Survey- Perceived)
- Changes in weight [Baseline, 6 months, 8 months]
Weight in pounds will be collected at each time point via self-report
- Changes in BMI [Baseline, 6 months, 8 months]
In addition to weight, height (inches) will be collected at each time point via self-report. Using weight and height values collected, BMI, BMI categories, and BMI z-scores (for children) will be computed for each time point.
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
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18 years of age or older
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Speak English
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Do most of their food shopping at a participating supermarket
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Receive or are eligible to receive SNAP benefits
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Have a child in the household between the ages of 2-17
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Have a working smartphone
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Be the main household shopper
Exclusion Criteria:
- Participants will be excluded if the primary shopper and/or any children in the family have major medical or dental conditions that would prevent them from eating fruits and vegetables, or if they have a serious neurological disorder, dementia, or psychiatric condition that interferes with understanding study procedures
Contacts and Locations
Locations
| Site | City | State | Country | Postal Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | United States | 19104 |
Sponsors and Collaborators
- University of Pennsylvania
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH, University of Pennsylvania
Study Documents (Full-Text)
None provided.More Information
Publications
None provided.- 833359