Increasing Physical Activity Among Sedentary Older Adults:What, Where, When, and With Whom

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Sedentary Lifestyle
Aging
Self Efficacy
Control Locus

Interventions: Behavioral: App Experimental condition
Behavioral: App Condition Control

Registration Number: NCT03124537

Lead Sponsor: Brandeis University

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.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 86

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.

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
App Experimental condition	App Experimental condition	The experimental condition will set step goals and have the schedule, map, and social components for 1 month.
App Control Condition	App Condition Control	The control group will just have the App with the accelerometer program to set step goals and to count and record steps for 1 month

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Number of Steps Walked	Daily for one month	Number of steps recorded daily on the phone app, weekly step averages

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Self-Reported Vigorous Physical Activity	Baseline and one month from the start of the intervention	Vigorous PA was measured using the question 'How often do you engage in vigorous physical activity that causes your heart to beat so rapidly that you can feel it in your chest and you perform the activity long enough to work up a good sweat and are breathing heavily?', with answer choices ranging from never (0) to several times a week (5).
Exercise Self-efficacy	Baseline and one month from the start of the intervention	A modified version of Bandura's Exercise Self-Efficacy scale (Bandura, 1997) was used in the current study. This 9-item scale assesses how sure one is that they would exercise under different conditions or constraints (e.g. How sure are you that you will exercise when you are feeling down or depressed?), with answer choices ranging from not sure at all (1) to very sure (4). The 9 items are averaged to create a composite score, where a higher score indicates greater exercise self-efficacy (Neupert et al., 2009).
Exercise Control Beliefs	Baseline and one month from the start of the intervention	Control over exercise was measured using the 6-item Exercise Control Beliefs Scale (Neupert, Lachman, \& Whitbourne, 2009). Items assess the beliefs about one's control over exercise (e.g., I am confident in my ability to do an exercise routine), with answer choices ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). The 6 items are averaged to create a mean exercise control score, with a higher score indicating greater control over exercise.
Social Contact Through the App	During the one month intervention	Number of participants who sent at least one text message via the app
Daily Mood and Energy Levels	Daily	Twice at random times, each day, mood and energy levels were assessed. A popup notification asked participants to rate their current mood (unhappy, neutral, happy) and energy (low, neutral, high) on a slider scale. Scores were converted by the StepMATE app to a 0-10 scale, with 0 indicating low mood/energy, and 10 indicating high mood/energy. If both mood and energy assessments were completed in one day, they were averaged to create daily average scores, one for mood and one for energy. Data presented below are the average of all daily scores across the month, while daily averages were used in the analyses.
Self-Reported Moderate Physical Activity	Baseline and one month from the start of the intervention	Moderate PA was measured with the question 'How often do you engage in moderate physical activity that is not physically exhausting, but it causes your heart rate to increase slightly and you typically work up a sweat?', with answer choices ranging from never (0) to several times a week (5).
Self-Reported Light Physical Activity	Baseline and one month from the start of the intervention	Light PA was measured using the question 'How often do you engage in light physical activity that requires little physical effort?', with answer choices ranging from never (0) to several times a week (5).