Digital training workshops for individuals over 55 led by a municipal library network

Last registered on June 28, 2017
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Digital training workshops for individuals over 55 led by a municipal library network
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0002289
Initial registration date
June 28, 2017

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
June 28, 2017, 11:33 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
Spain
Region
Catalunya

Primary Investigator

Name
Ramon Sabes-Figuera
Affiliation
IVALUA
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Oscar Ferré
PI Affiliation
-
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2015-11-01
End date
2016-09-30
Keywords
Education, Welfare
Additional Keywords
Digital gap
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Since the launch of the World Wide Web project in the 90s, the development of internet has being constantly accelerating, modifying the way in which social relations are established and maintained, as well as the resources used by the population to develop day-to-day activities, like shopping or reading the news. This situation has led to the outbreak of a new phenomenon: the digital gap. A problem which refers to the inability of certain people to take advantage of this new tool, and that specially affects the elderly. This study looks at a program led by a local network of libraries in the province of Barcelona which offers short courses of digital training to individuals aged 55 and over, to look at the impact of the digital training on the digital knowledge and the social network of participants.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Ferré, Oscar and Ramon Sabes-Figuera. 2017. "Digital training workshops for individuals over 55 led by a municipal library network." AEA RCT Registry. June 28. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2289-1.0
Former Citation
Ferré, Oscar and Ramon Sabes-Figuera. 2017. "Digital training workshops for individuals over 55 led by a municipal library network." AEA RCT Registry. June 28. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2289/history/19031
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The intervention consists on three in-person digital training workshops, 4 hours each, in which participants are taught how to use tablets and smartphones:

Session 1: How does your smartphone works?
Session 2: Pictures and videos with your smartphone
Session 3: Whatsapp and other instant messaging apps

Workshops take place in a classroom in the municipal library of the neighborhood, and each course has 15 students. The program is aimed at people over 55 years old, and therefore only people over that age are eligible for the treatment.
Intervention Start Date
2016-01-15
Intervention End Date
2016-03-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Internet usage frequency, number of apps used, size of the social network, frequency of contact with the closest person
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
1. 20 libraries from the municipal network are selected to participate in the trial.
2. Each library should select 35 eligible and interested participants, leading to 700 eligible candidates.
3. In each library, 5 people are randomly selected to be part of the "reservation group", constructed to fill the free spots in the workshops if people from the treatment resign.
4. The remaining 30 eligible individuals in each library (600 in total) are randomly divided between the treatment and the control groups, leading to two groups of 300 individuals.

Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
In office randomization
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
600 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
600 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
300 individuals in the treatment group,
300 individuals in the control group
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
June 30, 2016, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
June 30, 2016, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
519 individuals
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
300 individuals
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
130 individuals in the treatment group, 170 individuals in the control group
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
No
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials