Clinical trial NCT03124537: Increasing Physical Activity Among Sedentary Older Adults:What, Where, When, and With Whom
Official title: Increasing Physical Activity Among Sedentary Older Adults:What, Where, When, and With Whom
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Sedentary Lifestyle
Self Efficacy
Control Locus
Aging
Keywords: Physical Exercise
Behavior Change
Lead sponsor: Brandeis University
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: National Institute on Aging (NIA)
First posted: 2017-04-24
Enrollment: 86
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 50
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: Both conditions will receive the App for use on an iphone. The control group will just have the accelerometer program to set step goals and to count steps. The experimental condition will have the accelerometer to set goals and count steps in addition to the schedule, map and social components.
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The goal of this study is to develop a smart phone app to administer a behavior change program that helps adults to increase daily steps by planning where, when, and with whom to walk. The investigators tested the effectiveness of the walking program app for increasing the number of daily steps among sedentary older adults. The investigators examined the effects on self-efficacy and social integration/support.

Detailed description: Physical activity is broadly beneficial for physical, psychological, and cognitive aspects of health, yet only one in five U.S. adults meets the CDC physical activity guidelines. Making physical activity accessible and feasible throughout life is an important public health policy objective that is within reach with the right kind of behavioral and environmental supports. The project aims to provide such supports for an active lifestyle thereby contributing to healthy aging. The goal of this project is to increase physical activity (i.e., walking) in sedentary older adults by providing the environmental and behavioral resources to incorporate additional steps into their daily lives. The investigators used a behavioral approach that fosters a sense of control and facilitates planning by focusing on the what, when, where, and with whom aspects of their physical activity. The investigators proposed a user-friendly, practical way to increase steps. By providing people with specific, tailored information about the number of steps one can get by walking a certain distance or during a certain amount of time, participants can better plan when, where, and with whom they will be able to achieve the desired number of steps, break goals into manageable portions (at different times throughout the day or week), and thereby increase the likelihood of goal achievement.

During the app development phase, the investigators demonstrated the app to 10 older adults to get their input. The goal was to get their feedback about the app features and to make sure it is user friendly. The investigators asked questions about the ease of using the app and their understanding of the app features. The interviewer recorded their answers to share with the research team and app developer. Modifications to the app were made based on the feedback.

During the next phase of the study, the investigators tested whether the full app program was successful in increasing steps and whether it was more effective than the basic app that only includes step counting and goals, similar to a fitness tracker or pedometer. Sixty participants were randomly assigned to two conditions: the app with step counting and goals alone (control), or the full version of the app with the step counting and goals, schedule, maps, and social components (experimental). It was predicted that the intervention group would improve more on outcome measures than the control group.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Sedentary adults, who own an iphone with step-tracking capabilities (5s or later).
* Participants must be fit enough to walk for at least 20 minutes at a time.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Cognitive impairment
* A recent (within the past 6 months) cardiovascular event, or fall.
* A doctor has advised them not to walk
* Anyone who already exercises regularly: walks for exercise more than 30 minutes per day, or does other forms of exercise 150 minutes per week or more, will be excluded.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Number of Steps Walked
timeFrame: Daily for one month
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Exercise Self-efficacy
timeFrame: Baseline and one month from the start of the intervention
measure: Exercise Control Beliefs
timeFrame: Baseline and one month from the start of the intervention
measure: Social Contact Through the App
timeFrame: During the one month intervention
measure: Daily Mood and Energy Levels
timeFrame: Daily
measure: Self-Reported Vigorous Physical Activity
timeFrame: Baseline and one month from the start of the intervention
measure: Self-Reported Moderate Physical Activity
timeFrame: Baseline and one month from the start of the intervention
measure: Self-Reported Light Physical Activity
timeFrame: Baseline and one month from the start of the intervention
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Waltham
country: United States
facility: Brandeis University
state: Massachusetts
Study officials:
affiliation: Brandeis University
name: Margie Lachman, Ph.D.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Sullivan AN, Lachman ME. Behavior Change with Fitness Technology in Sedentary Adults: A Review of the Evidence for Increasing Physical Activity. Front Public Health. 2017 Jan 11;4:289. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2016.00289. eCollection 2016.
citation: Bisson AN, Sorrentino V, Lachman ME. Walking and Daily Affect Among Sedentary Older Adults Measured Using the StepMATE App: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2021 Dec 1;9(12):e27208. doi: 10.2196/27208.