A Community-based Social Networking Intervention to Increase Walking in Dog Owners

April 11, 2013 updated by: Kristin Schneider, University of Massachusetts, Worcester
The present study aims to initially test a community dog walking intervention that addresses individual, interpersonal and community factors associated with dog walking. The study will be conducted in two cities, Worcester and Lowell, as a collaboration between investigators from UMass Medical School and UMass-Lowell.

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.

Detailed Description

This is a group randomized trial where 8 communities in Worcester and Lowell (4 per city) will be randomly assigned to the 6-month dog walking intervention or a standard, self-help, print-based physical activity control condition. Dog owners (N=120; 15 per community) will be recruited. The intervention includes a social networking website, monthly newsletters, twice monthly neighborhood dog walks and community events. The intervention will: 1) educate owners about the benefits of dog walking to themselves and their dog, 2) teach strategies for regular dog walking, 3) teach dog walking tips and provide dog training seminars, 4) promote self-monitoring and goal setting for dog walking, 5) provide social networking opportunities for dog owners and 6) promote a sense of community via participation in neighborhood dog walks and community events. Intervention feasibility will be assessed by measures of implementation success, including recruitment and retention rates, website use, intervention satisfaction and attendance at neighborhood walks and community events. Initial efficacy will be assessed via change in weekly steps measured via a pedometer from baseline to 6-months after baseline.

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.
107

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.
  • 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
    • Massachusetts
      • Lowell, Massachusetts, United States, 01854
        • University of Massachusetts Lowell
      • Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, 01655
        • University of Massachusetts Medical Schol

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 and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Eligible participants will own a dog that is in good health and considered a household pet, be a Worcester or Lowell resident, be aged > 21 years old and have home internet access. Participants with cardiovascular disease, diabetes or other chronic health condition are eligible with permission from their PCP to participate.

Exclusion Criteria:

Participants will be excluded for any of the following:

  1. Inability or unwillingness to give informed consent
  2. Plans to move out of the area within the study period
  3. Participated in a focus group during the developmental phase
  4. Another household member is participating in the study
  5. Pregnant or planning a pregnancy in the next six months
  6. Condition that inhibits exercise (e.g., unable to walk unaided, or cannot walk 1/4 mile without stopping)
  7. Incapable of engaging in physical activity as assessed by the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire
  8. Self-report engaging in > 150 minutes of moderate and vigorous intensity physical activity per week.
  9. The participant's dog has a history of biting a human or has not received a rabies vaccination.

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: Prevention
  • 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: American Heart Association
Participants will receive handouts on increasing physical activity derived from the American Heart Association materials on increasing physical activity.
Behavioral: Community-based social networking intervention
Participation in this study lasts for 7 months and includes a baseline visit, an orientation visit, the 6 month intervention, and a 6 month assessment visit.
Experimental: Dog Walking
The 6-month dog walking intervention involves 5 components to address the individual, interpersonal and community levels of the socio-ecological model: newsletters, pedometers, social networking website, neighborhood dog walks, and invitations to community events.
Behavioral: Community-based social networking intervention
Participation in this study lasts for 7 months and includes a baseline visit, an orientation visit, the 6 month intervention, and a 6 month assessment visit.

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
Measure Description
Time Frame
feasibility
Time Frame: 6 months
Feasibility will be assessed by implementation success, including recruitment and retention rates, website use, intervention satisfaction and attendance at neighborhood walks and community events.
6 months

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
Weekly steps
Time Frame: baseline and 6 months
Pedometers that record 7-days of data will be used to measure steps at baseline and 6 months
baseline and 6 months
weekly dog walking minutes
Time Frame: baseline and 6 months
Self-reported minutes of dog walking measured using the DAPA tool.
baseline and 6 months
social support for walking
Time Frame: baseline and 6 months
Self-reported social support for walking
baseline and 6 months
sense of community
Time Frame: baseline and 6 months
self-reported sense of community
baseline and 6 months

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 Massachusetts, Worcester

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
University of Massachusetts, Lowell

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.
  • Principal Investigator: Krisitin Schneider, Ph.D., Rosalind Franklin Medical School

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.
January 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, 2012

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, 2012

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).
April 30, 2012

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 7, 2012

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 8, 2012

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.
April 15, 2013

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.
April 11, 2013

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.
April 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • NIH 5 UL1RR031982-02

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Sedentary

Clinical Trials on Community-based social networking intervention

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings