A BCT Intervention for Physical Activity Among Individuals on Statins

Phase 1

Completed

Conditions: Insufficient Physical Activity

Interventions: Behavioral: 5 Behavioral Change Techniques

Registration Number: NCT05273723

Lead Sponsor: Northwell Health

Brief Summary: The purpose of this project is to identify the minimum effective dose (MED) of a multi-component behavioral change intervention required to increase levels of physical activity (PA) among participants on primary prevention statin therapy who are at elevated risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The intervention will be comprised of 5 BCTs which have previously shown to be effective on increasing health behaviors: Goal Setting, Action Planning, Self-Monitoring, Feedback, and Prompts/Cues. Participants will complete a 2-week baseline run-in period where PA levels will be measured using Fitbit wearable device. Then 42 participants will be randomized into 14 cohorts of 3 participants each for the intervention period. During the intervention period, participants will receive a multi-BCT intervention, the length of which varies between 1 and 10 weeks depending on the assigned dose. Assignment to doses will utilize a modified version of the Time-to-Event Continual Reassessment Method (TiTE-CRM) methodology to adjust the dose for each cohort based on the results from the previous cohort. After the intervention, there will be a 2-week follow-up period. The MED will be defined as the smallest BCT dose (defined by weeks of intervention) associated with 80% of participants having a successful PA increase between the run-in and the follow-up periods (defined as walking an extra 2,000 more steps per day).

Detailed Description: The purpose of this project is to identify the minimum effective dose (MED) of a multi-component behavioral change intervention required to increase levels of physical activity (PA) among participants on primary prevention statin therapy who are at elevated risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The long-term goal is to prevent CVD. The current project will utilize a modified version of the time-to-event continual reassessment method (TiTE-CRM), a state of the art dose finding methodology, to determine the MED of a multi-component behavioral change technique (BCT) intervention required to increase PA by an average of 2,000 steps per day. The intervention will be comprised of 5 BCTs which have previously shown to be effective on increasing health behaviors: Goal Setting, Action Planning, Self-Monitoring, Feedback, and Prompts/Cues.

The sample will include individuals on primary prevention statin therapy. For this research, the investigators will enroll currently sedentary persons, with the goal of randomizing 42 persons to the intervention. Enrolled participants will complete a 2-week run-in period where PA levels will be measured using Fitbit wearable devices and levels of adherence to statin medications will be assessed using a smart pill bottle. During the baseline run-in period, objective data from the Fitbit wearable devices will be used to verify sedentary behavior. Individuals who do not have objective levels of sedentary behavior and/or are non-adherent to the protocol will be excluded and will not be randomized to the intervention. Following run-in, the investigators will randomize 42 participants into 14 cohorts of 3 participants each for the intervention period. During the intervention period, participants will receive a multi-BCT intervention, the length of which varies between 1 and 10 weeks depending on the assigned dose. Assignment to doses will utilize modified TiTE-CRM methodology to adjust the dose for each cohort based on the results from the previous cohort. Following the intervention, all participants will be assessed over a 2-week follow-up period which includes passive data collection from the activity monitor, answering surveys, and use of smart pill bottle to track medication adherence. The MED will be defined as the smallest BCT dose duration associated with 80% of participants having a successful PA increase between the run-in and the follow-up periods. Change in PA will be defined as the difference in average daily PA between the run-in and follow-up periods. The investigators will also assess Mechanisms of Action (MoAs) to determine potential mediators of the BCT intervention on PA. As increasing PA may change statin adherence, the investigators will utilize smart pill bottle to measure adherence to statin medications.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 42

Inclusion Criteria

Ages 18 or older;
Northwell Health employee/affiliate
Ambulatory without limitations: has never been advised by a clinician that increasing low-intensity walking would be unsafe;
Prescribed statin medication;
Self-reported low levels of physical activity
Access to and capable of using a smart cellular phone;
After 2 week run-in, objectively-verified low levels of physical activity as documented by a commercially available Fitbit device
English speaking.

Exclusion Criteria

Age less than 18 years;
Not a Northwell Health employee/affiliate
Non-ambulatory or unsafe/not recommended to participate in a walking program
Not prescribed statin medication;
History of CVD;
Inability to comply with study protocol during 2 week run-in;
Does not speak English;
Unavailable for follow-up;
Cognitive impairment;
Severe mental illness (e.g., bipolar disorder or schizophrenia);
Pregnancy

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: SEQUENTIAL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Intervention	5 Behavioral Change Techniques	Dose-finding study with 14 groups of 3 participants each. To identify the minimum effective dose (MED) to increase walking by 2,000 more steps per day between run-in and follow-up periods, the first group of 3 participants will receive a 5-week dose of the multi-BCT intervention. For the next subjects, the doses to administrate will vary between 1 and 10 weeks in length and will be determined using a modified version of the Time-to-Event Continual Reassessment Method (TiTE-CRM) according to the observed responses in the previous participants.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Number of Participants Who Achieved a 2,000 Step/Day Increase Between run-in and Follow-up	Mean daily step totals will be compared between the run-in (2 weeks pre-intervention) and follow-up periods (2 weeks post-variable intervention of 5-10 weeks).	Participant steps will be assessed continuously using a Fitbit mobile device. Daily steps for participants will be aggregated by run-in and follow-up periods to generate average daily steps in each period. Average daily steps in the follow-up period will be compared to average daily steps in the run-in period. If the average steps in follow-up are 2,000 steps per day greater than during run-in, the outcome for the Time-to-Event Continual Reassessment Method (TiTE-CRM) will be judged successful. The minimum effective dose (MED) will be defined as the smallest BCT dose duration associated with 80% participants receiving that dose having a successful increase in walking between the run-in and the follow-up periods. Pre-specified to report primary and secondary outcome results across the full sample.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Within-person Change in Daily Steps.	Mean daily step totals will be compared between the run-in (2 weeks pre-intervention) and follow-up periods (2 weeks post-variable intervention of 5-10 weeks).	Participant steps will be assessed continuously using a Fitbit mobile device. Daily steps for participants will be aggregated by run-in and follow-up periods to generate average daily steps in each period. Changes in daily steps between run-in and intervention periods will be compared using Generalized Linear Mixed Model Analyses. Pre-specified to report primary and secondary outcome results across the full sample.
Within-person Change in Self-Efficacy for Walking.	Self-efficacy will be assessed at the completion of the 2-week run-in and at the end of the 2-week follow-up period. Changes in self-efficacy will be reported comparing mean difference scores between run-in and follow-up (follow-up mean minus run-in mean)	Self-efficacy will be assessed using the Self-Efficacy for Walking (SE-W) scale, a 10-item measure assessing patient's capabilities to walk for durations of 5 to 50 minutes. Items are scored from 0 to 100%, with scores of 0% indicating participants are "not at all confident" they could walk for that duration and scores of 100% indicating the participants are "highly confident" they could walk that duration. Items are average to create a total score, with higher scores indicating higher levels of beliefs about self-efficacy. Pre-specified to report primary and secondary outcome results across the full sample.
Within-person Change in Intrinsic Regulation.	Intrinsic regulation (IR) will be assessed at the completion of the 2-week run-in and end of the 2-week follow-up period. Changes in IR will be reported comparing mean difference scores between run-in and follow-up (follow-up mean minus run-in mean)	This will be assessed using a 4-item measure assessing intrinsic regulation, a subscale of the Behavioral Regulations in Exercise Questionnaire Version 2 (BREQ-2). Items are scored on a 0 (Not true for me) to 4 (Very true for me) scale, and averaged to create a total score, with higher scores indicating greater intrinsic regulation. Pre-specified to report primary and secondary outcome results across the full sample.
Within-person Change in Discrepancy in Behavior.	Discrepancy in behavior (DIB) will be assessed at the completion of the 2-week run-in and end of the 2-week follow-up period. Changes in DIB will be reported comparing mean difference scores between run-in and follow-up (follow-up mean minus run-in mean)	This will be assessed with a single item measuring discrepancy in behavior. The text of the measure is "How large is the difference between your current walking behavior and your goal concerning your walking?" The question is rated from 1 (Not at all different) to 7 (very different) with higher scores indicating greater levels of discrepancy in behavior. Pre-specified to report primary and secondary outcome results across the full sample.
Within-person Change in Motivation.	Motivation will be assessed at the completion of the 2-week run-in and at the end of the 2-week follow-up period. Changes in motivation will be reported comparing the mean difference scores between run-in and follow-up (follow-up mean minus run-in mean)	Motivation will be assessed with a message stating "I feel motivated to walk each day." Participants will rate this item on a scale of 1 (Not true at all) to 7 (Very true) with higher scores indicating higher levels of motivation. Pre-specified to report primary and secondary outcome results across the full sample.
Within-person Change in Environmental Context and Resources.	Environmental context and resources (ECaR) will be assessed at completion of 2-week run-in & end of 2-week follow-up period. Changes in ECaR will be reported comparing mean difference scores between run-in & follow-up (follow-up mean minus run-in mean)	This will be assessed using a checklist of 7 potential barriers to walking. Barriers are coded on a 1 (Not often at all) to 5 (Very often) scale, and averaged to create a total score, with higher scores indicating that the listed barriers had greater effects on walking. Pre-specified to report primary and secondary outcome results across the full sample.
Within-person Change in Medication Adherence.	Medication adherence will be assessed continuously via a smart pill bottle and adherence will be calculated daily. Change over time will be examined between the 2-week run-in and the follow-up period (2 weeks post-variable intervention of 5-10 weeks).	Participant adherence to statin medication will be assessed continuously using a smart electronic pill bottle. Daily medication adherence will be recorded for each participant across the full duration of the study. Changes in medication between run-in and intervention phases will be compared using Generalized Linear Mixed Model Analyses. Adherence during run-in and follow-up periods will be reported as the proportion of days adherent (e.g. 0.786 for 11 out of 14 days adherent). Changes in adherence between run-in and follow-up will be reported as the mean change in proportion of days adherent