Active Choice Regarding Cardiovascular Disease Risk
Condition: Cardiovascular Diseases
MeSH terms: Cardiovascular Diseases
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      In this web-based RCT, the investigators will investigate whether promoting an active choice
      regarding coping with an increased CVD risk results in better psychological outcomes (e.g.,
      degree of active choice; commitment toward the chosen option) compared to usual care (i.e., a
      GP's advice to change one's lifestyle and take medication). By 'active choice' the
      investigators mean a conscious and autonomous choice in which an individual (a) becomes aware
      of a discrepancy between the current and desired situation; (b) understands what his/her CVD
      risk means, and what its causes and consequences are; (c) evaluates the pros and cons of the
      different options to cope with the risk; and (d) is clear about his/her values regarding the
      choice. The different options to cope with an increased CVD risk include: changing one's
      lifestyle; taking medication; doing both; or changing nothing.
    

Detailed description: 
      Cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be a leading cause of mortality among adults.
      Adults at increased risk of cardiovascular disease are usually advised by their general
      practitioner (GP) to change their lifestyle (i.e., quit smoking; eat healthier; become more
      physically active). In addition, GP's regularly advice their patients to take
      antihypertensive and/or lipid lowering medication to decrease the CVD risk. Previous research
      has shown that many patients at increased risk of CVD have difficulty maintaining lifestyle
      changes and adhering to their medication regimen - either intentionally or unintentionally.
      Intentional non-adherence could occur when patients experience side-effects of the
      medication, whereas unintentional non-adherence usually occurs when patients forget to take
      their medication.

      In the current study, the investigators will investigate whether promoting an active choice
      regarding coping with an increased CVD risk results in better psychological outcomes (e.g.,
      degree of active choice; commitment toward the chosen option) compared to usual care (i.e. a
      GP's advice to change one's lifestyle and take medication). By 'active choice' the
      investigators mean a conscious and autonomous choice in which an individual (a) becomes aware
      of a discrepancy between the current and desired situation; (b) understands what his/her CVD
      risk means, and what its causes and consequences are; (c) evaluates the pros and cons of the
      different options to cope with the risk; and (d) is clear about his/her values regarding the
      choice. The different options to cope with an increased CVD risk include: changing one's
      lifestyle; taking medication; doing both; or changing nothing.

      The investigators will investigate this in a web-based RCT among adults aged 45-65 years. The
      intervention group (i.e. active choice group) and control group (i.e. usual care group) will
      both receive a hypothetical CVD risk. The investigators expect an active choice regarding
      coping with an increased CVD risk to result in better psychological outcomes compared to a
      GP's advice. Ultimately, a more active choice is expected to results in greater behavioural
      persistence regarding the chosen option; i.e. lifestyle change and/or medication adherence.
    

Intervention name(s): Decision-aid for cardiovascular disease risk; Control
Intervention type(s): Other; Other
Intervention description(s): The active choice intervention aims to promote an active choice regarding coping with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. This means that individuals should (a) become aware of a discrepancy between the current and desired situation; (b) understand what the CVD risk means, and what its causes and consequences are; (c) evaluate the pros and cons of the different options to cope with the risk; and (d) are clear about their values regarding the choice.; The control condition contains information that resembles usual care by a GP regarding CVD prevention
Other intervention name(s): Active choice intervention for cardiovascular disease risk; Usual Care
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: Web-based randomized controlled trial
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Prevention; Active choice; Decision-making