A Randomized Controlled Trial of Employer Matching of Employees' Monetary Contributions to Deposit Contracts to Promote Weight Loss.

PURPOSE: To test whether employer matching of employees' monetary contributions increases employees' (1) participation in deposit contracts to promote weight loss and (2) weight loss. DESIGN: A 36-week randomized trial. SETTING: Large employer in the northeast United States. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred thirty-two obese employees. INTERVENTIONS: Over 24 weeks, participants were asked to lose 24 pounds and randomized to monthly weigh-ins or daily weigh-ins with monthly opportunities to deposit $1 to $3 per day that was not matched, matched 1:1, or matched 2:1. Deposits and matched funds were returned to participants for each day they were below their goal weight. MEASURES: Rates of making ≥1 deposit, weight loss at 24 weeks (primary outcome), and 36 weeks. ANALYSIS: Deposit rates were compared using χ(2) tests. Weight loss was compared using t tests. RESULTS: Among participants eligible to make deposits, 29% made ≥1 deposit and matching did not increase participation. At 24 weeks, control participants gained an average of 1.0 pound, whereas 1:1 match participants lost an average of 5.3 pounds (P = .005). After 36 weeks, control participants gained an average of 2.1 pounds, whereas no match participants lost an average of 5.1 pounds (P = .008). CONCLUSION: Participation in deposit contracts to promote weight loss was low, and matching deposits did not increase participation. For deposit contracts to impact population health, ongoing participation will need to be higher.

A qualitative evaluation of patient-perceived benefits and barriers to participation in a telephone care management program.

PURPOSE: To examine why high-risk individuals targeted for a telephone care management program participated at low rates. DESIGN: Study design consisted of qualitative, semistructured interviews. SETTING: The setting was a large national insurer's telephone-based care management program. The program employed registered nurses to provide individually tailored education and counseling about health and health care. SUBJECTS: Study subjects comprised members of a national insurer who were recruited to participate in a care management program but had either dropped out of the program after a short period of initial engagement or had never participated despite recruitment efforts. MEASURES: Interview content was divided into four categories: knowledge of the case management program, barriers to program participation, perceptions of benefits of the program, and suggestions for program improvement. ANALYSIS: Investigators conducted a directed content analysis. RESULTS: The most commonly cited barriers to participation were a lack of perceived need and a sense of distrust toward the program and its staff. The most commonly cited benefits were psychosocial support and goal setting. CONCLUSION: Care management programs may benefit from changes to how insurance plan members are selected for the program and from adjusting program content to address perceived needs among members.

Olfactory processing in schizophrenia, non-ill first-degree family members, and young people at-risk for psychosis.

OBJECTIVES: While deficits in odor identification and discrimination have been reported in schizophrenia, few studies have examined the relative specificity of these deficits in patients and at-risk youth. METHOD: Sniffin' Sticks odor identification and discrimination were assessed in schizophrenia outpatients and non-ill first-degree relatives (Study One), as well as youth at clinical (CR) or genetic (GR) risk for schizophrenia (Study Two). Scores were z-transformed, using the performance of a demographically-matched adult or adolescent comparison group. RESULTS: Patients and relatives were impaired on odor identification, but odor discrimination impairment was limited to the patient group. A similar pattern of impairment emerged in at-risk youth. GR youth were impaired on odor identification but not discrimination, while CR youth were impaired on both tasks. In patients, olfactory impairment was correlated with negative symptomatology. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that CR youth are impaired on both olfactory tasks, as observed in adult schizophrenia patients. GR youth were impaired only on odor identification like their adult counterparts. These data suggest that odor identification impairment, in isolation, may represent a genetic marker of vulnerability for schizophrenia, while odor discrimination deficits may be a biomarker associated with the development of psychosis.