A Group-Based Walking Study Using WeChat to Enhance Physical Activity Among Older Adults

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The aim for the study is to use the function WeRun in the application WeChat to encourage physical activity and social engagement among community dwelling older adults and their family members and friends. The specific aims are to test the effectiveness of a social contact and comparison intervention for increasing regular daily physical activity among community dwelling older adults, and to examine the potential effectiveness of WeChat in cultivating social engagement and well-being among community dwelling older adults.

Detailed Description
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The aim for the study is to use the function WeRun in the application WeChat to encourage physical activity and social engagement among community dwelling older adults. The investigators asked participants in the social engagement group to use the WeRun function in WeChat to track their daily walking steps and to compare their performance with their group members for 4 weeks. To encourage social engagement among their group members, the daily walking steps were calculated and the participant who has the highest step count in the group will be indicated each day.Those in the control group will only use the WeRun function in WeChat to track their own walking steps. The investigators expected that the participants in the social contact group will walk more often and report more social activities than those in the control group, who will not compete with their peers in daily walking. To test these predictions, daily walking steps and the total walking steps per week were obtained and compared across groups. The nature and the extent of change was analyzed over the four weeks. Exercise self-efficacy was measured using a measure based on Bandura's model. Social engagement was measured using the short Lubben Social Network Scale, a self report measure of social engagement on a 12-item scale, and physical activity was measured using International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), a self-report measure of physical activity on a 12-item scale.

Official Title
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A Group-Based Walking Study Using WeChat to Enhance Physical Activity Among Older Adults: The Role of Social Engagement

Conditions
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Inactivity, Sedentary Behavior

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Control condition
* Behavioral: Treatment condition


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Participants who are 60 or older who have a cellphone, with either android or iPhone system with data plan. They must be fit enough to walk for at least 20 minutes at a time. English speaking Exclusion Criteria: Unable to walk more than 20 minutes; do not have smart phone with data plan. younger than 60

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 60 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Interventional Model Description: A total of 60 adults were recruited and randomly assigned to either the control condition (n=30) or the treatment condition (n=30). The 60 participants completed the study in one of three subgroups, with 20 participants randomly assigned to two groups (10 in the treatment group and 10 in the control group). Both conditions will use the WeChat App for use on a smartphone. The control group used the WeRun program to count their own steps. The treatment condition used the WeRun to engage in social contact and compare their steps with others in the group.
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Control Condition<br>Participants only saw their own daily walking steps using the WeRun function in WeChat. They did not use WeChat to see other group members' daily steps and did not engage in social contact with their group members. | Behavioral: Control condition<br>* Participants in the control group only saw their own daily walking steps using the WeChat. They did not use WeChat to see other group members' daily steps and did not contact other group members. The participants were asked to use the app every day. A message (through WeChat) was sent to remind them to use the application if they had not done so within three days.<br>|
| Experimental: Treatment condition<br>Participants saw their own and other group member's daily walking steps using the WeRun function in WeChat and they were able to contact the other members of their group using We Chat. | Behavioral: Treatment condition<br>* Participants in the experimental condition used WeChat for 4 weeks to see their own and other's walking steps and also were able to contact other group members. The participants were asked to use the application every day. A message (through the group chat) was sent to remind them to use the application if they have not done so within three days.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Number of Steps Walked | Weekly average number of steps recorded with WeRun on the phone [ (averaged across 7 days at Baseline week and averaged across 7 days at Week 4 (Posttest) and averaged across 7 days at Week 8 (one month follow up)]. | [Time Frame: Baseline (pretest) Week, Week 4 (posttest) and Week 8 (one month follow up)] | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Social Engagement | Short Lubben Social Network Scale-Revised, a self-report measure of social engagement on a 12-item scale. The total score is calculated by the sum of all the items. The total score ranges between 0 and 60, with a higher score indicating more social engagement. | Pretest given 1 week before the intervention and then at the posttest after the 4 week study and one month follow up | 
| Exercise Self Efficacy | This scale is a self-report of exercise self-efficacy. Total score is calculated by summing the responses to each question. This scale has a range of total scores from 0-90. A higher score indicates higher self-efficacy for exercise. | Pretest given 1 week before the intervention and then at the posttest after the 4 week study and one month follow up |