1. STEPITUP
Text4Steps
TERRA GORE
LAURA FRANK
BRITTNEY LEE
NICOLE LONG
AUDREY PERNIK

2. HEALTH ISSUE: HEART DISEASE
CDC Fact Sheet:
•Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men in the US, killing
307,225 men in 2009—that’s 1 in every 4 male deaths.
•Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men of most
racial/ethnic groups in the US
Risk Factors include:
• Diabetes
• Overweight and obesity
• Poor diet
• Physical inactivity
• Excessive alcohol use
#STEPITUP

3. TARGET AUDIENCE
22-32 year- old males
who live or work in the
Washington, DC metro
area who exercise less
than 150 minutes a
week.
#STEPITUP

4. INTERVENTION OBJECTIVES
Health objective:
Improve the cardiovascular health of 22 - 32 year old males in
Washington, DC.
Behavioral objective:
Increase the number of minutes of moderate to vigorous walking
completed each week by 50% over 6 months among 22-32
year old males in Washington, DC who do not currently meet
IOM’s recommended physical activity guidelines.
#STEPITUP

5. HEALTH BELIEF MODEL
Theory Components Related to Target
• Perceived Susceptibility to a Audience
Might I be at risk for developing heart disease?
disease or problem
• Perceived Severity of the disease or Do I believe heart disease is a serious problem?
problem
If I add more physical activity to my day, would I
• Perceived Benefits of taking action
reduce my risk or even prevent heart disease?
• Perceived Barriers to taking action Does my lifestyle make it difficult for me to
engage in physical activity?
• Exposure to cues to action Are there messages and reminders available ?
Am I confident that I can add steps (figuratively
• Perceived self-efficacy
and literally) to my day to reduce my risk for
heart disease?
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6. COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES
• Within one month, increase target audience’s awareness of the risk factors of
heart disease, including lack of physical activity, by 65%.
• Within two weeks, increase the target audiences beliefs in the value of
incorporating more physical activity (steps) into their daily routine as a way to
reduce risk of cardiovascular disease.
• Within two weeks, the target audience’s will increase their knowledge of the ways
to incorporate more walking/steps into their daily lifestyle by 50% via text
messaging intervention.
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7. TEXT MESSAGE LIBRARY:
Number of texts we sent each day: 4-6 texts/day
Examples
With each flight climbed you are decreasing your chances of developing: heart disease,
prostate cancer, diabetes, sleep apnea, depression, back pain, impotence, gallstones, joint
problems, high blood pressure, low sperm counts, and an impressive collection of
prescription-drug bottles. #StepitUp
StepitUp: Congratulations! You made it to Week 2 of the #StepitUp Challenge. Ready
to see your name on top of that leaderboard? Today's challenge is reaching 10,000
steps for a 2nd day in a row. Ready. Set. GO!
StepitUp: Ready for your next challenge? Text A for Distance, B for Stairs Climbed, C for
Calories Burned, D for Distance and Stairs Climbed, or E for Turbo Stairs Climbed
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8. TEXT MESSAGE LIBRARY: SAM SCORE
Readability grade: 3
Number of sentences Syllabus
First 100 words 9.4 136
Second 100 words 14.2 119
Third 100 words 13.1 117
Total/3 36.7/3=12.2 372/3=124
*Referenced Fry graph for final score of 3
• Our message library scored an 88 %.
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9. TRIAL RESULTS
Quantitative data from pre-post surveys
Increased Decreased Remained Same
Perceived susceptibility Knowledge Self-efficacy
Perceived severity
Perceived benefits
Perceived barriers
Cues to action
Limitations
• Small sample size
• Convenience sample was slightly more active than target
• Unable to accurately assess number of steps because participants did not sync FitBits
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10. PROGRAM EVALUATION
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11. RECOMMENDATIONS
 Tailor challenges, goals, and timing of messages more specifically to each individual.
 Add reminders to sync the FitBit device.
 Keep the challenge aspect, both through individual personal challenges and the group leaderboard
 Give more information about the link between lack of physical activity and cardiovascular problems to
increase perceived susceptibility.
 Focus more on increasing knowledge through occasional messages that mention recommendations about
weekly minutes of exercise.
 Because the program seemed to increase perceived barriers, include more specific tips on how to
overcome time/access barriers and motivate oneself during a period of discouragement or fatigue.
 A “peer voice” could be incorporated into the text messaging campaign in the future.
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