Facebook-based Physical Activity Intervention for Young Adult Cancer Survivors: the FITNET Randomized Pilot Study (FITNET)

December 12, 2011 updated by: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility and efficacy of a behavioral intervention, delivered through an existing social networking website (Facebook), on physical activity (moderate-intensity minutes per week) among young adult cancer survivors compared to a self-help education condition. For this research study, investigators will conduct a 12-week randomized trial. After a baseline survey, weekly messages, a pedometer, goal-setting tool, physical activity log and discussion prompts will be delivered to the intervention group. Comparison group participants will receive links to websites with self-help education materials. After 12 weeks, a follow-up survey will be given to both groups. Changes in physical activity, quality of life and psychosocial factors will be examined. The investigators hypothesize that those receiving the intervention will have improved physical activity behaviors at 12-week follow-up relative to those in the comparison group.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
97

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Early Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • North Carolina
      • Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, 27599
        • Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at UNC-CH

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

21 years to 39 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Young adult between ages 21-39 diagnosed with cancer (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) at age 18 or older
  • At least 1 year beyond date of diagnosis with no evidence of progressive disease or second primary cancers
  • Completed cancer treatment
  • English-speaking and writing
  • No pre-existing medical condition(s) or contraindications that preclude adherence to an unsupervised exercise program, including cardiovascular disease, congestive heart failure, pulmonary conditions, renal disease, and severe orthopedic conditions
  • Not adhering to the American Cancer Society's recommendation of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week (<150 minutes/week)
  • Have access to Internet service and an active Facebook account
  • Willing to be randomized
  • Have indicated consent by checking "yes" to the online consent form

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Non-English speaking
  • < 21 and > 39 years of age
  • Diagnosed with cancer less than one year previously or still in treatment
  • Pre-existing medical condition(s) that preclude adherence to an unsupervised exercise program, including cardiovascular disease, congestive heart failure, pulmonary conditions, renal disease, and severe orthopedic conditions

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Facebook-based Self-help Comparison
Participants will receive a pedometer and twelve weekly messages with links to Internet resources that have educational materials related to exercise and cancer survivorship.
Behavioral: Facebook-based Self-help Comparison
Twelve weekly messages and a pedometer.
Experimental: Facebook-based Messages/Website
Participants will receive a pedometer, twelve weekly messages, and be encouraged to participate in sixteen Facebook group discussions and use a website for exercise goal-setting and tracking activity.
Behavioral: Facebook-based Messages/Website
Twelve weekly messages, a pedometer, sixteen group discussions, and access to an exercise website to promote increased physical activity.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Primary study outcome measures at the participant level will be minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week and exercise in MET-hrs/week.
Time Frame: Participants will be assessed at baseline (before 12-week study period) and after 12 weeks.
Participants will be assessed at baseline (before 12-week study period) and after 12 weeks.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Quality of life
Time Frame: Participants will be assessed at baseline (before 12-week study period) and after 12 weeks.
Participants will be assessed at baseline (before 12-week study period) and after 12 weeks.
Psychosocial factors
Time Frame: Participants will be assessed at baseline (before 12-week study period) and after 12 weeks.
Examine potential mediators of the effect of the intervention, including changes in self-efficacy, social support and self-monitoring behaviors
Participants will be assessed at baseline (before 12-week study period) and after 12 weeks.
Utilization of program components/activities
Time Frame: Participants will be assessed at baseline (before 12-week study period) and after 12 weeks.
Participants will be assessed at baseline (before 12-week study period) and after 12 weeks.
Perceptions of program components/activities
Time Frame: Participants will be assessed at baseline (before 12-week study period) and after 12 weeks.
Participants will be assessed at baseline (before 12-week study period) and after 12 weeks.
Communication factors
Time Frame: Participants will be assessed at baseline (before 12-week study period) and after 12 weeks.
Examine potential mediators of the effect of the intervention, including message trust, relevance and recall
Participants will be assessed at baseline (before 12-week study period) and after 12 weeks.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Study Chair: Marci K. Campbell, PhD, MPH, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
  • Principal Investigator: Carmina G. Valle, MPH, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 1, 2011

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 1, 2011

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 2, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 4, 2011

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 6, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
December 13, 2011

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 12, 2011

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
December 1, 2011

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 10-2150

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