Cobb 2014.
| Study characteristics | ||
| Methods | RCT | |
| Participants |
Participants: U.S.‐based adults (n = 1503)Age range: 18 and older Recruitment: advertisements were placed within Facebook, running 82 different ads over 47 days. Advertisements did not mention the trial itself. Individuals registered for the product using Facebook‐enabled authentication, which provided their name, e‐mail address, and information on their Facebook friends. Participants were recruited to take part in the trial during product registration.Eligibility: adults living in the USA who were age 18 or older (19 or older if residing in Alabama or Nebraska).Country: USA |
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| Interventions |
Intervention: Social media only (n = 752) A multimodal e‐mail‐, web‐, and mobile‐based intervention (Daily Challenge), in which participants receive daily suggestions of small health actions that they complete in a social environment. Control: non‐social media (n = 751) A traditional weekly health newsletter served as control. |
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| Outcomes | Overall well‐being, Social support | |
| Equity | High‐income country | |
| Notes | Health behaviours: not applicable. Body function: not applicable. Psychological health: not applicable. Well‐being: well‐being was the only outcome reported for this category. Mortality: not applicable. Adverse effects: not applicable. Secondary outcomes: social support was the only outcome reported for this category. |
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| Risk of bias | ||
| Bias | Authors' judgement | Support for judgement |
| Random sequence generation (selection bias) | Low risk | "Quote "randomization was automated and gender‐stratified (permutation within strata)." |
| Allocation concealment (selection bias) | Unclear risk | Not reported |
| Blinding of personnel | Low risk | Investigators were blinded to group assignments. |
| Blinding of participants | Unclear risk | Not reported |
| Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes | Unclear risk | Not reported |
| Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes | High risk | High attrition, although ITT used. Unclear whether those who were lost are similar to completers. Higher unsubscribe rates in intervention group. |
| Selective reporting (reporting bias) | Low risk | As reported in trial registration NCT01586949 |
| Baseline characteristics similar | Low risk | No significant differences between groups |
| Baseline outcome measurements similar | Low risk | Baseline similar but slightly higher for intervention participants |
| Protection against contamination | High risk | "Quote "Control participants received a generic health newsletter by e‐mail once a week (no social interactivity or calls to action) and otherwise had no access to the Daily Challenge system" BUT "Daily Challenge is a freely accessible e‐mail‐, web‐, and mobile‐ based intervention. Members are encouraged to recruit individuals from their real‐life social network and connect with them within Daily Challenge." |