Integrated Web-Based Customer Engagement, Physical Exercise, and Coaching Platform for Older Adults

August 21, 2018 updated by: Northeastern University
The fast-growing older population coupled with the worsening shortage of caregivers and nurses will soon present our nation with severe societal and economic challenges. Older adults often struggle to maintain quality of life and independence in the presence of chronic diseases and isolation. Physical exercise and socialization have been shown to reduce chronic disease, depression, falls and to improve quality of life in older adults. Motivation and feedback are essential to continued engagement in a wellness program, but doing so through the traditional manner of in-person coaching can be prohibitively expensive. Vigorous Mind (VM) has been providing a web-based platform to promote sustained engagement in older adults primarily in senior living facilities. The platform provides dynamic and tailored content including reminiscence activities, favorite music and video, adaptive computer games and communication. With the help of the Consortium on Technology for Proactive Care, the investigators will enhance the current VM system with an additional interactive physical exercise module and a health coach with automated tailored messaging and incentives for continued engagement and adherence. This will optimize the VM system for home-based deployment, thus expanding the reach and impact of VM to potentially delay or even prevent institutionalization among older adults living independently.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

The goal of the proposed project is to test the feasibility of deploying an economically feasible, machine-assisted, home-based wellness coaching system for older adults. Our approach consists of four sub-phases: (1) development, (2) usability, (3) preliminary deployment, and (4) pilot evaluation and analysis. The investigators estimate that the investigators will complete this project plan within 9 calendar months.

Sub-phase 1: Development [3 months and 3 weeks]. During sub-phase 1, the investigators will focus on software development activities at both VM and NU. There are 2 deliverables resulting from this sub-phase:

Build coaching interface. VM has an administrator interface that facilitates the design, assignment to users and adherence monitoring of a cognitive exercise plan. Using NU's experience and expertise, our developers will broaden the VM functionality to include a physical exercise module that allows assignment of exercise plans to users, monitoring of users' adherence and social interactions, as well as the delivery of tailored feedback and encouragement. The reward system of VM which currently rewards engagement in a variety of activities will be adapted to also reward physical activity. VM will create a new user type for the coach that allows for data sharing and an ability to communicate with family and/or caregivers in addition to the participant.

Integrate GymCentral into VM. Developed by researchers at the University of Trento in Italy (an international member of the CTPC), the primary software developer is now a postdoctoral fellow at NU and key personnel on this grant application. GymCentral is a virtual training platform (virtual gym) specifically designed for older adults. The virtual gym delivers video exercises in a "classroom" where trainees can see the presence of other trainees as avatars and communicate with them. The virtual gym aims to boost older adults' social interaction and motivate them to adhere to physical exercises. Our team of developers will integrate this system with the VM platform so that GymCentral can be deployed and collect engagement data within the VM system.

Sub phase 2: Usability [1 month]. In sub-phase 2, VM will connect with several of its independent living community's clients that have agreed to help recruit 5 independently living older adults who have and use computers for a pilot study (recruiting details specified below). This group will serve as the early usability testers for the home version of the VM system (VM@Home) and provide iterative feedback for our developers. Each of these 5 individuals will be given VM@Home to use on their home computers for one month. During this month, each participant will be provided a wearable wrist accelerometer (e.g., Misfit), along with training on the devices and on VM@Home, engage regularly with the platform, and be contacted weekly by a health coach. The investigators plan to use an innovative remote usability testing approach developed and tested by our collaborator Dr. Jimison. The developer and tester team will periodically contact the participants, especially if any anomalies are detected. During the remote sessions, participants will be asked to interact with the VM modules (calendaring, messaging, brain games, and Web entertainment) and the new physical exercise module. The iterative usability feedback will be used to adapt the design of the system for deployment in Sub-phase 3.

Sub-phase 3: Pilot Test [3 months]. After usability testing has been completed and necessary changes implemented, the investigators will ramp up recruitment activities through existing VM clients who have agreed to participate in the study with the goal of deploying VM@Home in an additional 15 homes of independently living older adults in independent-living communities. The five individuals who were recruited for sub-phase 2 will be offered the opportunity to continue in the study as champions of the technology, for which the investigators will provide additional training and support. As champions, they will mentor those of the other 15 users who will need assistance. During this sub-phase, the investigators will measure system use (continuously), level of physical activity (daily from wearable), level of socialization (daily from monitoring and by survey at baseline and each month), and mood, self-efficacy, and user satisfaction all by self-report at baseline and each month.

At the end of the three months, the investigators will also debrief with each participant with a semi-structured interview to obtain overall feedback and suggestions. These debriefing sessions will help investigators and developers to enhance design specifications for a robust, reliable and effective integrated engagement and coaching system to provide guidance for the further development and testing in a much larger population in Phase II. This will include exploring best options for including reward systems for active participation.

Sub-phase 4: Analysis [1 month]. Although the investigators will be routinely analyzing the monitoring data from system use and daily activity feedback from the wearable activity tracker throughout the project for coaching purposes, the last month of the project will be devoted to analyzing the full set of primary and secondary outcomes, as well as the qualitative debriefing interviews. The results from this pilot will prepare us for a more expanded and more powerful intervention in our follow-on Phase II proposal.

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 (Anticipated)

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.
20

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.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.
  • Name: Director, Office of Human Subjects Protection
  • Phone Number: (617) 373-4588
  • Email: irb@northeastern.edu

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Dedham, Massachusetts, United States, 02026
        • New Bridge on the Charles
      • Weston, Massachusetts, United States, 02493
        • Maplewood Senior Living

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

65 years and older (OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Living independently
  • Able to read and speak English
  • PCP approval to exercise
  • Have a laptop PC or Windows based tablet
  • Have WiFi in their home
  • Have a smart phone with a data plan

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Uncorrected vision or auditory impairment
  • Cognitive impairment (MoCA<27)

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: OTHER
  • Allocation: NA
  • Interventional Model: SINGLE_GROUP
  • Masking: NONE

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.
EXPERIMENTAL: VM @ Home Usability
We will pilot our customer engagement and physical exercise system in the homes of up to 20 participants for 3 months. Participants will interact with the system on their own computers, smart phones, and/or televisions and wear an activity tracker throughout the study. Interactions include physical exercise, system usage, and video conferencing.
Behavioral: VM @ Home Usability
Our primary outcome measures will be use of the coaching system features, level of daily physical activity, mood, self-efficacy, and user satisfaction. Secondary outcomes that will inform our further development and be important outcomes in subsequent trials include user adherence to their coaching goals, physical function and level of socialization. For the pilot study, we plan to assess physical function and level of socialization at baseline and at the end of 3 months. For the other outcome measures, we will be able to integrate the data collection into the VM@Home platform and coaching process.

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
Change in level of physical activity
Time Frame: At baseline (week 1) and again in the final week (week 12)
Change in daily average number of steps from baseline week 1 to final week (up to 16 weeks, depending on trial phase) as measured by Fitbit
At baseline (week 1) and again in the final week (week 12)

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
Change in mood
Time Frame: At baseline (week 1) and again in the final week (week 12)
Change in mood score from baseline to completion using PANAS
At baseline (week 1) and again in the final week (week 12)
User satisfaction
Time Frame: Post participation (Week 12)
User rated satisfaction with system as measured by the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire adapted to Internet-based interventions (CSQ-I)
Post participation (Week 12)
Self-efficacy
Time Frame: At baseline (week 1) and again in the final week (week 12)
Change in user rated self-efficacy as measured by the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale
At baseline (week 1) and again in the final week (week 12)
Adherence to goals
Time Frame: weekly (weeks 1-12)
Change in percentage of cumulative assigned activity completion (number of minutes using/number of minutes scheduled) as measured by the VM@Home system
weekly (weeks 1-12)
Level of socialization
Time Frame: At baseline (week 1) and again in the final week (week 12)
Change in social network score, measured at baseline and again at the end of participation as measured by the Ludden Social Network Scale
At baseline (week 1) and again in the final week (week 12)
Usability
Time Frame: Week 12
Change in user rated usability and ease of use of system as measured by the Brooke System Usability Scale (1996)
Week 12

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.
Northeastern University

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 Director: Holly B Jimison, PhD, Northeastern University
  • Principal Investigator: Yuval Malinsky, Vigorous Mind, Inc.

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.

Helpful Links

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 (ANTICIPATED)

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.
September 1, 2018

Primary Completion (ANTICIPATED)

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.
September 1, 2019

Study Completion (ANTICIPATED)

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.
September 1, 2019

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).
August 15, 2017

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.
August 21, 2018

First Posted (ACTUAL)

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.
August 23, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ACTUAL)

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.
August 23, 2018

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.
August 21, 2018

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.
August 1, 2017

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.
  • R43AG057337 (NIH)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

We do not plan to share IPD with other researchers. This is usability testing for a small business innovation award with a small study population; sharing data under these circumstances would be inappropriate.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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 Aging

Clinical Trials on VM @ Home Usability

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