Stay Strong: A Physical Activity Program for Afghanistan and Iraq Veterans
Condition: Exercise
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This project is Project three of a four project Prevention Coaching Lab CREATE grant entitled
      "Transforming Prevention into Action" aimed at effectively engaging patients and their
      families to improve their health and medical care.

      This project will test the feasibility and effectiveness of the prevention focused, internet
      mediated healthy lifestyle Stay Strong program tailored to the needs, preferences and
      demographics of OEF/OIF/OND Veterans.
    

Detailed description: 
      Veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq (OEF/OIF/OND) are at high risk for becoming overweight and
      obese. However, existing VA programs are not designed for younger Veterans who are
      comfortable with technology-mediated interventions, may not yet have developed
      obesity-related illnesses, and contain a relatively high percentage of women compared to
      previous Veteran cohorts. Technology-mediated lifestyle interventions that include
      continuous, objective home monitoring of physical activity, automated internet mediated
      feedback, and e-coaching increase physical activity and improve weight loss in non-Veteran
      populations. When delivered on a large scale, such interventions represent low cost but
      effective alternatives to face-to-face lifestyle change interventions that can be implemented
      widely in the VA health care system. Thus, this project will test the feasibility and
      effectiveness of the prevention focused, internet-mediated healthy lifestyle physical
      activity program, Stay Strong w/coaching, tailored to the needs, preferences and demographics
      of OEF/OIF/OND Veterans. Specifically, Stay Strong w/coaching relies on use of a wearable
      device, the Fitbit Charge 2, and incorporates coaching support, tailored messages, and
      personalized physical activity goals. Stay Strong w/coaching will be compared to the use of
      the Fitbit Charge 2 with standard online support (Stay Strong).
    

Intervention name(s): Stay Strong w/coaching; Stay Strong
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Pts randomly placed in the Stay Strong w/coaching group receive an app-mediated physical activity intervention. Pts are asked to wear a physical activity monitoring device and weigh regularly using a Bluetooth scale while participating in the study. Pts will be asked to upload the device data at least weekly and will receive tailored push notifications. Each week the pt will receive a new automatically calculated personalized physical activity goal. Stay Strong coaches will call pts up to 3 times in the first 6-8 weeks of the study to help pts meet physical activity goals including problem solving support. Pts will also be reminded to follow-up with their healthcare provider as needed for the remainder of the 12-month program.; Pts randomly placed in the Stay Strong arm are asked to wear a physical activity monitoring device and weigh regularly using a Bluetooth scale while participating in the study. Pts will be asked to upload the device data at least weekly. Pts will have access to a standard app-mediated intervention that is linked to the wearable device.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Exercise; App-mediated; Veterans