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Telephoned health coaching and financial incentives led to improved physical activity after TKR
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After total knee replacement, an intervention of telephonic health coaching plus financial incentives led to improvements in physical activity.
“With recent moves to shift health care financing from paying for volume to value, expenditure of resources to improve physical activity will become increasingly attractive, given that physical activity is among the most important drivers of quality of life in [osteoarthritis] OA,” Elena Losina, PhD, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and colleagues wrote.
Researchers designed a randomized controlled trial of 150 patients undergoing total knee replacement. Some patients also underwent an intervention of telephonic health coaching (THC) plus financial incentives (FI). Physical activity and step counts were measured with Fitbit Zip, a commercial accelerometer.
Investigators found the average daily step count after 6 months ranged from 5,619 in the arm of patients who only underwent an intervention of THC to 7,152 in the arm of patients who underwent interventions of both THC and FI. The daily step counts 6 months after total knee replacement were increased by 680 in the control group, by 274 in the THC group, by 826 in the FI group and by 1,808 in the THC plus FI group. In addition, physical activity — as measured by total minutes per day — increased by 14 minutes in the control group; 14 minutes in the THC group; 16 minutes in the FI group; and by 39 minutes in the THC plus FI group. – by Will Offit
Disclosures: Losina reports she is a deputy editor for Methodology and Biostatistics for the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.
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