We Walk Plus Study for Older Adults With Intellectual Disabilities

Not Applicable

Recruiting

• Conditions: Intellectual Disability
• Interventions: Behavioral: We Walk Plus Intervention

• Registration Number: NCT04573530
• Lead Sponsor: University of Illinois at Chicago

Brief Summary

Determine the feasibility and acceptability of We Walk Plus intervention to promote physical activity and improve cognition for older adults with intellectual disabilities (ID).

Detailed Description

We Walk Plus study consists of: (1) a user friendly physical activity tracker (i.e., Fitbit Charge HR ); (2) user-centered social networking (e.g., Fitbit community); and (3) the iCardia platform for monitoring daily Fitbit physical activity and wear time and sending personalized text-messages targeting physical activity and self-efficacy. The specific aims of this two-arm RCT pilot are to: 1) assess the feasibility and acceptability of the We Walk Plus intervention and 2) explore the preliminary efficacy of We Walk Plus on physical activity and well-being.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2020-09-14
• Study First Submitted QC: 2020-09-29
• Study First Posted: 2020-10-05
• Study Start: 2021-06-15
• Status Verified: 2025-01
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-01-22
• Last Update Posted: 2025-01-27
• Primary Completion: 2025-02-15
• Study Completion: 2025-03-31

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 46

Inclusion Criteria

• Men and women with mild or moderate intellectual disabilities;
• ages 35-60;
• able to speak, read English and willing to provide consent to enroll;
• able to follow instructions and walk, physically inactive;
• willing to receive SMS, wear Fitbit throughout the study;
• living with family or in a community residence;
• support persons are willing to assist participants to ensure the Fitbit functions properly.

Exclusion Criteria

• Inability to follow instructions;
• diagnosis of coronary disease or uncontrolled hypertension, smokers, physically active;
• participating in a health promotion program;
• having mental illness or behavior problems;
• support persons unable or unwilling to assist participants with Fitbit devices, if needed.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SEQUENTIAL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
We Walk Plus Intervention	We Walk Plus Intervention	The intervention group will receive a Fitbit, SMS and will be assigned to a private Fitbit community (4-5 participants per group) for 12 weeks. During the intervention, participants will receive weekly personalized SMS on their mobile phones including encouraging messages, reminders, and tips to increase steps, and weekly step goals. The investigators will use a secure, web-based platform, iCardia, to support continuous real-time remote monitoring of activity data from Fitbit devices and personalized communication via SMS based on incoming data. The investigators will set up the Fitbit networking settings on participants' phones to give notifications when there are posts to this group. Individual goals and a weekly team goal of steps will be set up by the research team. Each member will be awarded a badge upon reaching each individual's weekly goal. Teams will also be awarded badges when all team members reach their individual weekly goals.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Physical activity	12 weeks	daily steps

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Attention & executive function	12 weeks	Flanker Inhibitory Control and Attention Test -a standard test from the NIH toolbox which has been adapted and validated for individuals with ID to assess one's limited capacities to deal with an abundance of environmental stimulation.
Self-efficacy to physical activity	12 weeks	Physical Activity Self-efficacy/Social Support scale will be used to assess confidence to perform physical activity
Executive function	12 weeks	Dimensional Change Card Sort Test -a standard test from the NIH toolbox which has been adapted and validated for individuals with ID to assess one's capacity to plan, organize, and monitor the executive of behaviors.
Cardiovascular fitness	12 weeks	modified six-minute walk test
Working memory	12 weeks	List Sorting Working Memory Test-a standard test from the NIH toolbox which has been adapted and validated for individuals with ID to assess the ability to store information.
Processing speed	12 weeks	Pattern Comparison Processing Speed Test- a standard test from the NIH toolbox which has been adapted and validated for individuals with ID to assess the amount of information that can be processed within a certain unit of time.

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

University of Illinois at Chicago; 🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois, United States

Trinity Services Inc.; 🇺🇸 New Lenox, Illinois, United States