Effects of Individual, Dyadic, and Collaborative Plans on Physical Activity in Partner-Partner Dyads

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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OBJECTIVE: The project aims at investigating of the effects of three types of planning (individual planning, collaborative planning, and dyadic planning) on physical activity among dyads.The influence of three planning interventions are compared with an active control condition, including physical activity education. PARTICIPANTS: The effects of the interventions are evaluated among dyads of two adults (partner-partner dyads). Adults forming dyads (e.g. two romantic partners, two relatives, two co-workers, two friends) who are in regular contact for at least one year will be enrolled. A minimum of 50 dyads enrolled into the each arm of the trial (a total of 200 dyads). The interventions consist of six planning sessions. DESIGN: The dyads are randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions. The assessment of the main and secondary outcomes is conducted at the baseline, at 1 week after the first intervention session, at post-intervention (after six intervention sessions are completed), and at 6-, and 12-month follow-ups. OUTCOMES: Physical activity constitutes the main outcome, whereas health-related quality of life (HRQOL), body mass index, and sedentary behavior as well as the self-regulatory strategy called the use of planning (individual, dyadic and collaborative) are secondary outcomes.

Detailed Description
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Individual planning (also known as implementation intentions or action and coping planning) is a regulatory strategy, which refers to making plans on when, where, and how to perform an intended behavior. In dyadic planning, a target person is setting plans together with a partner on when, where, and how the target person will individually engage in behavior change. The concept of dyadic planning differs from the conceptualization of collaborative plans, where two individuals make plans on how to enact a behavior together. The study will evaluate the effects of a short-term planning intervention. The intervention includes a total of six sessions: two face-to-face sessions with the experimenter (delivered over two weeks) and three sessions delivered over phone (over the following three weeks), one face-two-face session (delivered at one month after the third session delivered over the phone). The delivery has an individual format (the experimenter + the dyad). The total time from first to sixth session is 2 months. The setting for the interventions will include physician's offices and participant's home. The same format, schedule, delivery, and setting will be used for conducting active control group procedures.

Official Title
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Physical Activity and Health-related Quality of Life: Dyadic Research in the Context of Forming Individual, Dyadic, and Collaborative Plans. Trial 3

Conditions
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Health Behavior

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Individual Planning
* Behavioral: Dyadic Planning
* Behavioral: Collaborative Planning
* Behavioral: Education


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Both partners in the dyad are adults At least one partner in the dyad does not meet the World Health Organization guidelines for physical activity for their respective age group and health status Participants are healthy or with a diagnosed chronic illness (without contraindications for moderate intensity physical activity The partners may be a romantic relationship or in another relationship: next of kin, family members, friends who are willing to join the study together The dyadic partners are in the stable relationship for at least one year or meet and spend time together regularly for at least one year Exclusion Criteria: Any existing diseases with contraindications for moderate intensity physical activity, confirmed by patient's primary care physician or a specialist in cardiovascular diseases/endocrinology/rehabilitation medicine providing care for the patient during the recruitment and follow-ups Both participants in the dyad meet the World Health Organization guidelines for physical activity for their respective age group and health status in terms of minutes per week, the intensity of physical activity, and the types of exercises

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 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
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Individual Planning<br>The planning materials and forms have sections: (a) information on the importance of planning, including examples of how planning works and what it affects, (b) instructions of what should be included in a good plan (the when, where, and how components), (c) formulating action and coping plans. Action plans (referring to when, when, and how the individual will act) as well as coping plans (referring to how to overcome potential difficulties, risky situations or temptations to not engage in physical activity) will be formed. Each participant will form their plans individually, without consulting the dyadic partner, but discussing the plans with the experimenter. | Behavioral: Individual Planning<br>* Participants are filling in the planning forms, referring to their individual physical activity. Both members of the dyad form their own, interdependent plans. The following behavior change techniques (BCT) are included in the planning intervention protocol: action planning, barrier identification, prompting self-talk, relapse prevention/coping planning. Applications of all BCT included references to planning.<br>Behavioral: Education<br>* The education group participants receive extended physical activity and healthy nutrition education program. The education includes: (1) the guidelines for physical activity and healthy nutrition, tailored to age and health status of the participants, (2) the examples of exercises and their metabolic equivalent; (3) information about healthy body mass and body composition.<br>|
| Experimental: Dyadic Planning<br>The planning materials and forms have sections: (a) information on the importance of planning, including examples of how planning works and what it affects, (b) instructions of what should be included in a good plan (the when, where, and how components), (c) formulating action and coping plans. Action plans as well as coping plans will be formed. Both partners in the dyad jointly form one plan. This jointly developed plan is discussed with the experimenter. The plan focuses on physical activity of only one person in the dyad. This target person will be selected jointly by the participants if both participants are healthy. If one participant has a chronic disease, e.g. diabetes or a cardiovascular disease, the plans are formed for the person with a disease. | Behavioral: Dyadic Planning<br>* Participants are filling in the planning forms jointly. Planning refers to physical activity of only one person in the dyad. The other person in the dyad is actively participating in forming plans by the target person. The following BCT are included in the planning intervention protocol: action planning, barrier identification, prompting self-talk, relapse prevention/ coping planning. Applications of all BCT included references to planning.<br>Behavioral: Education<br>* The education group participants receive extended physical activity and healthy nutrition education program. The education includes: (1) the guidelines for physical activity and healthy nutrition, tailored to age and health status of the participants, (2) the examples of exercises and their metabolic equivalent; (3) information about healthy body mass and body composition.<br>|
| Experimental: Collaborative Planning<br>The planning materials and forms have sections: (a) information on the importance of planning, including examples of how planning works and what it affects, (b) instructions of what should be included in a good plan (the when, where, and how components), (c) formulating action and coping plans. Action plans and coping plans will be formed. Both partners in the dyad jointly form one plan. This jointly developed plan is discussed with the experimenter. The plan focuses on physical activity of both persons within the dyad (both partners) and include some plans for joint physical activity. | Behavioral: Collaborative Planning<br>* Participants are filling in the planning forms jointly. Planning refers to physical activity of both persons in the dyad. Physical activity may be performed jointly by both persons in the dyad. The following BCT are included in the planning intervention protocol: action planning, barrier identification, prompting self-talk, relapse prevention/ coping planning. Applications of all BCT included references to planning.<br>Behavioral: Education<br>* The education group participants receive extended physical activity and healthy nutrition education program. The education includes: (1) the guidelines for physical activity and healthy nutrition, tailored to age and health status of the participants, (2) the examples of exercises and their metabolic equivalent; (3) information about healthy body mass and body composition.<br>|
| Active Comparator: Education<br>The education materials address physical activity and healthy nutrition guidelines for age groups and chronic disease. Participants receive a set of educational materials about types of physical activity (PA), PA intensity, exercise calorie expenditure, strength and endurance training, stretching, and general nutrition guidelines in terms of meal composition, and nutrients, meal frequency. The materials exclude any planning statements. The education is delivered by the experimenter to a partner-partner dyad and discusses individual guidelines for both dyadic partners. | Behavioral: Education<br>* The education group participants receive extended physical activity and healthy nutrition education program. The education includes: (1) the guidelines for physical activity and healthy nutrition, tailored to age and health status of the participants, (2) the examples of exercises and their metabolic equivalent; (3) information about healthy body mass and body composition.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Physical activity | Accelerometry: ActiGraph (the model: wGT3X-B) | Change from baseline physical activity at 8 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) | WHOQOL--BREF Questionnaire (Skevington et al., 2004) | Change from baseline HRQOL at 8 months | 
| The use of planning | The self-reported use of planning questionnaire (individual, dyadic and collaborative), based on Luszczynska (2006) | Change from baseline use of planning at 2 months | 
| Body mass index (BMI) | Certified and standardized body weight scales (Beurer; European Union safety certificate; measurement error < 5%) and measuring rods will be used. Body mass index will be calculated using the following formula: body weight [in kg] divided by a square of body height [in meters]. Body weight will be recorded in kilograms and body height will be recorded in meters. | Change from baseline BMI at 8 months | 
| Physical activity | The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) (Craig et al., 2003); open-ended questions indicating the minutes and the number of occasions of physical activity behavior per week; higher scores represent better outcome | Change from the baseline physical activity at 8 months |