Are motivational drivers developed through theoretical constructs and delivered though a mobile application effective in promoting daily physical activity among sedentary working adults in the Colombo Municipal Council area?

Study design: A quasi-experimental study Study setting: Banking sector in the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) area Sampling method:
Four groups will be randomly assigned for the study. Initially, four Banks (with a minimum workforce of 100) which are located geographically apart in the CMC area of the district of Colombo, where there had not previously been any exposure to health promotion program will be selected purposively for the study. This selection will be made while ensuring that the four banks are comparable with each other as much as possible by gender and size of its workforce.

Next, the four bank settings will be randomly allocated (using a random number table) to receive one of the three interventions (intervention groups 1-3) or to receive none of the interventions (control group). Thereafter, within each setting, the required sample size (n=61) will be obtained for the study. For this purpose, the list of banking officers included in the employment register will be taken as the sampling frame, from which those fulfilling the eligibility criteria will be identified using systematic sampling. After selecting one person randomly from the first five persons enlisted in the register, every other person will be selected until the required sample size is achieved. Thereafter, each will be invited to participate in the study.

Intervention group 1: This group will receive the following: • Education module (this would enable all participants to acquire knowledge and skills required for being active throughout the day. Knowledge on the benefits gained by being active, recommendations on physical activity level to be achieved per week, commonly adopted daily activities and their approximate metabolic equivalents (MET) values and activities recommended for sedentary workers will be given in non-personalized video presentations, question and answer sessions, quiz and online reading material). • Non-personalized, pop-up motivational messages every morning • One health message • One reminder to access the educational material/ interactive videos uploaded on physical activity. Participants will receive 2-3 pop-up messages every day at fixed times of the day. Also, these messages will be displayed whenever the user is switching on the phone or shifting to active mode, so as to ensure that the message is seen by the user. All other features of the mobile application will be disabled from use.

Intervention group 2: This group will receive the following: • Education module • Non-personalized pop-up motivational messages (in text or graphical form) • Information message on their activity level, such as step count, sedentary time, active time, travel time, etc. (captured through built-in accelerometer) Participants will receive 2-3 pop-up messages every day.

Intervention group 3: This group will receive the following: • Education module • Personalized pop-up motivational messages (in text or graphical form). Personalized messages are packaged as a series to facilitate the motivational process by providing feedback and incorporating user inputs with background data from inbuilt sensors for personalized motivational messages. Participants will receive 2-3 pop-up messages every day at fixed times of the day. The messages will be personalized according to age and gender of the user, daily routine specific for the user and the amount of activity done in the previous day by the user. Also, these messages will be displayed whenever the user switches on the phone or when shifting to active mode, so as to ensure that the message is seen by the user. • Feedback on their activity level, such as step count, sedentary time, active time, travel time, etc. (captured through accelerometer and GPS data) Participants will receive this feedback throughout the day (on demand). Apart from the physical activity (PA) information, the user will receive daily, weekly and monthly summaries of PA levels. Based on the feedback, alternatives/ suggestions would also be made on further options available to achieve the recommended physical activity for a given day. The application will also facilitate setting goals for each week, planning activities per day and effective modification of daily routine to achieve the recommended physical activity level.

Control group: This group will not have access to the newly developed mobile application through smartphone.

Intervention will continue for a period of six months.

Adults (male and female) between 18-50 years of age currently employed in State Banks in the Colombo District,

Employed full time (for a minimum period of five years) as Bank Officers engaged in sedentary work (seated at least for 6 hours per day during work on more than five days a week)

Participants who own a smartphone (mobile phones comprising multi-purpose computing devices, equipped with hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, which facilitate software, internet & web browsing and multimedia functionality (including music, video, camera and gaming), alongside core phone functions such as voice calls and text messaging) and who spend more than 90 minutes per day on communication/ internet browsing/ social media other than for designated official work on a daily basis including minimum frequency of usage of 2 times per hour on average.

Not engaged in any regular recreational physical activity (e.g. sport activity, exercise session or brisk walking done once a week or more) at present and during last one year

Exclusions: • Conditions/diseases that have restrictions on physical activities (e.g. recent myocardial infarct, diagnosed angina, arthritis or backache, musculoskeletal injury) • On a strict diet control program • Pregnancy and lactation
• Previously engaged in physical activity programmes delivered via mobile application • Currently using a mobile application for self-monitoring of physical activity and/or registered for e-health services