A randomised controlled trial of the Nextdoor Kind Challenge: a study protocol

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Public Health
• Social Science

Background:

• Community interventions are promoted for reducing loneliness and social isolation but lack rigorous study designs.
• Acts of kindness are a potential strategy to reduce loneliness and promote health and wellbeing.
• Evaluating community interventions requires robust methodologies to ascertain effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of kindness acts on loneliness in community-dwelling individuals.
• To assess the effectiveness of the KIND challenge, a four-week intervention involving weekly acts of kindness.
• To explore secondary outcomes including social isolation, neighbour relationships, mental health, stress, quality of life, and positive affect.

Main Methods:

• Three large-scale, randomized controlled trials were conducted across Australia, UK, and USA.
• Participants were recruited from an online community, randomized online, and completed online assessments.
• The study compared the KIND challenge intervention group against a waitlist control group.

Main Results:

• The study is designed to explore the effects of the intervention on loneliness as the primary outcome.
• Secondary outcomes include social isolation, neighbor relationship quality, mental health symptoms, stress, quality of life, and positive affect.
• Feasibility, acceptability, and safety of the KIND Challenge will also be assessed.

Conclusions:

• This large-scale, multi-country randomized controlled trial will provide crucial data on community-led interventions.
• The findings will examine the potential of kindness acts to reduce loneliness and social isolation.
• The study aims to promote neighborhood cohesion, health, and wellbeing, particularly relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic.