Behavior Change Techniques (BCTs) to Improve Low Intensity Physical Activity in Older Adults

Phase 1

Completed

Conditions: Sedentary Behavior

Interventions: Behavioral: Behavioral Change Techniques

Registration Number: NCT04967313

Lead Sponsor: Northwell Health

Brief Summary: The purpose of this pilot study is to determine the feasibility of using personalized trial methods in a virtual research study with Northwell employees aged 45-75 years old to increase low-intensity walking by 2,000 steps per day/5 days per week using four behavior change techniques (BCTs), provided in random order, and shown to have been effective in changing physical activity. The study will include a two-week baseline period during which levels of physical activity and adherence to the trial protocol will be evaluated. Individuals meeting adherence criteria will be randomized to the eight-week BCT intervention.

Detailed Description: The purpose of this pilot study is to determine the feasibility of using personalized trial methods in a virtual research study with Northwell employees aged 45-75 years old to increase low-intensity walking by 2,000 steps per day/five days per week using four behavior change techniques (BCTs), provided in random order, and shown to have been effective in changing physical activity. This pilot will help determine if a personalized, virtual trial design can have widespread use in future research and clinical practice. The investigators will randomize 60 participants. Participants will complete a two-week baseline period during which they will be asked to wear a Fitbit device all day and night, even while they are sleeping, and to acknowledge receipt of a daily text message that is not an activity prompt. Baseline participants will be instructed to sync their Fitbit device by opening the Fitbit app on their phone at least every two days. After completion of the baseline period, a clinical research coordinator will review individual adherence to Fitbit wear and to survey responses. Adherence to Fitbit wear will be defined as recorded activity of greater than 10 hours a day. Text message adherence will be defined as responding to a given text message. Baseline participants that do not achieve at least 80% adherence of Fitbit wear and text responsiveness during the two weeks of the baseline period will be withdrawn from the study. Those that maintain at least 80% adherence will be randomized to one of their selected behavior change techniques to begin their pilot personalized trial. Participants who are randomized to receive intervention sequences will receive email confirmation including their protocol timeline. Enrollment will continue until up to 60 participants have been randomized. Individuals in the intervention period will receive four BCTs: goal setting, action planning, self-monitoring of behavior, and feedback on behavior. BCTs will be delivered individually to participants over the course of eight weeks in four two-week blocks. The order of BCT administration will be randomized by the study statistician. Participants may receive additional text messages to those outlined above with important reminders to sync their data as needed. Upon completion, participants in the personalized trials phase will receive an individual report that demonstrates their walking responses in relation to their selected BCTs. After receiving the report, clinical research coordinators will contact participants to respond to questions and to obtain feedback about their personalized trials experience.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 60

Inclusion Criteria

Age 45 - 75 years old of age
Fluent in English
Employed in the Northwell Health system
Community-dwelling
Report they are in good general health, walk regularly and have never been informed by a clinician that it was not advisable/safe to participate in a low-intensity walking program
Owns and can regularly access a smartphone capable of receiving text messages
Owns and can regularly access an e-mail account

Exclusion Criteria

< 45 years old or > 75 years old
Unable to speak/comprehend English
Not employed in Northwell Health system
Have self-reported poor health, limited mobility and/or have been advised by a clinician not to increase their low-intensity walking
Pregnancy
Previous diagnosis of a serious mental health condition or psychiatric disorder, such as bipolar disorder

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Behavioral Change Techniques to Increase Walking	Behavioral Change Techniques	Individuals will receive daily text messages with the goal of increasing daily walking by 2,000 more steps five days per week. Participants will be enrolled for a baseline period lasting two weeks where their average daily activity level will be assessed using a Fitbit device to generate an average daily step counts. Following completion of baseline, participants will receive daily text messages of behavior change techniques (BCTs) for eight weeks. The four BCTs utilized in this study are: goal setting, action planning, self-monitoring of behavior, and feedback on behavior. Each BCT will be delivered to participants daily for a two-week block. Four blocks (one BCT per block) will be delivered to the participant. The order in which the BCT interventions are presented to participants will be randomized by the study statistician. The goal of the BCT text messages will be to encourage walking behavior.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Within-person Change in Daily Steps.	Steps will be assessed continuously via worn activity tracker. Step counts will be aggregated and analyzed at the daily level. This will yield 70 daily measurements of physical activity over the course of the 10-week study.	Participant steps will be assessed continuously using a Fitbit mobile device. Daily steps for participants will be aggregated by baseline and intervention phases to generate average daily steps in each phase. Changes in daily steps between baseline and intervention phases will be compared using Generalized Linear Mixed Model analyses. Changes in daily steps between intervention and baseline will be represented using a regression parameter.
Participant Satisfaction With Personalized Trial Components.	Assessed once after completion of the study at 10 weeks.	Participants will rate their satisfaction with the Personalized Trial overall and with individual elements of the trial in a satisfaction survey developed for this trial. Participants will rate 9 items assessing satisfaction with methods and process of the trial on a 4-point Likert scale with responses ranging from "0 - Not at all satisfied" to "3 - Very satisfied". Higher scores indicate greater levels of satisfaction. Means and standard deviations will be reported for each element of satisfaction.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Participant Attitudes and Opinions Towards Personalized Trials.	Assessed once after completion of the study at 10 weeks.	Participants will be asked via survey about their attitudes and opinions regarding the personalized trial implementation (e.g., Did the trial feel burdensome?). Participants will rate items on a 7-point Likert scale with responses ranging from "0 - Strongly Disagree" to "6 - Strongly Agree". Higher scores indicate greater levels of agreement. Scores on each item will be reported with means and standard deviations.
Self-Efficacy for Walking	Assessed at baseline, week 2, week 4, week 6, week 8, and week 10.	This will be assessed using the Self-Efficacy for Walking (SE-W) scale,\[1\] an 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 capabilities/self-efficacy.