Church-based Intervention to Improve Physical Function

July 24, 2026 updated by: Elizabeth Lynch, Rush University Medical Center

Keep it Movin': A Church-based Intervention to Improve Physical Function

This is a 12-month multi-level behavioral cluster randomized trial testing a church-based intervention to improve physical function (PF) in Americans with PF limitations.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

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 (Estimated)

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.
360

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.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Illinois
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60422
        • Rush University Medical Center

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

40 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Churches (Community-level):

  • Membership of 300 or more adults
  • Located in Cook, Lake, Dupage, Will, McHenry, Kane, or Kendall counties

Participants (Individual-level):

  • Age 40 or older
  • Have mobility limitations (defined as SPPB score of ≤9)
  • Ambulatory, defined as able to get out of a chair and walk without assistance without using a straight cane
  • Able to speak and read English
  • Attend recruitment church; and
  • Safe to begin an exercise program, which will be determined using the Exercise Assessment and Screening for You (EASY) Tool.

Exclusion Criteria:

Participants (Individual-level):

  • Severe cognitive impairment, defined as five or more errors on the Short-Portable Mental Status Questionnaire
  • Unable to consistently attend group classes at a scheduled time due to lack of reliable transportation, schedule conflicts, travel, plans to relocate, upcoming surgery, etc.
  • Participating in a medically supervised rehabilitation program such as cardiac rehab
  • Inpatient treatment for a psychiatric condition within the past 6 months, or currently receiving treatment for schizophrenia or other serious psychiatric illness
  • Contraindications to exercise determined using the EASY/healthcare follow-up
  • Congestive heart failure New York Health Association (NYHA) Class I or higher; unstable angina; heart attack or stroke within past 6 months
  • Visual or hearing impairment.

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Sequential Assignment
  • Masking: Double

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: Keep it Movin'
Behavioral: Keep it Movin'
Individual participants in churches randomized to the intervention arm will participate in the Keep it Movin' multi-component PA education program, as well as be encouraged by their church and study interventionist to participate in the church-wide walking program. Individuals enrolled in Keep It Movin' will attend weekly 90-minute sessions for 24 weeks. All sessions will include the structured physical activity component from the LIFE study intervention, with the following components, which were added to address needs of the target community: functional education, social support and problem-solving. To increase the functional gains seen in the LIFE pilot study and add content addressing self-management and PA with multiple chronic conditions (MCCs), the number of sessions in the proposed trial has been increased from 16 to 24 weeks.
Active Comparator: Go 4 Life Self Guided Education
Behavioral: Go 4 Life Self Guided Education
Individual participants in churches randomized to the comparator arm will receive the church-wide walking program and the Go4Life Your Everyday Guide to Exercise and Physical Activity which was developed by the National Institutes of Health National Institute on Aging to promote physical activity in older adults. This includes an evidence-based exercise guide and motivational tips to help older adults start and sustain an exercise program. The Go4Life guide will add individual level education and encouragement to the interpersonal and community levels of intervention provided by the church-wide walking program.

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 Physical Function
Time Frame: Measured at baseline and 6 months and 12 months after start of the intervention
Objective physical function will be measured using the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) an instrument commonly used to measure physical performance within the aging population.
Measured at baseline and 6 months and 12 months after start of the intervention

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 Physical Activity
Time Frame: Measured at baseline and 6 months and 12 months after start of the intervention
Objective physical activity (i.e., time spent in moderate and vigorous physical activity) will be collected via a wrist worn accelerometer (ActiGraph GT9X Link activity monitor) collected over 4-7 days. The ActiGraph GT9X Link provides physical activity data including raw acceleration, energy expenditure, steps taken, physical activity intensity, activity and sedentary bouts, and heart rate intervals.
Measured at baseline and 6 months and 12 months after start of the intervention
Change in Self-Reported Physical Activity
Time Frame: Measured at baseline and 6 months and 12 months after start of the intervention
Self reported physical activity will be evaluated using the Community Healthy Activities Model Program For Seniors (CHAMPS) questionnaire. The CHAMPS physical activity questionnaire is designed to promote physical activity in seniors. The CHAMPS tool is a 41-item questionnaire that asks about the length of time spent doing certain activities (less than an hour to 9 or more hours) in the past 4 weeks.
Measured at baseline and 6 months and 12 months after start of the intervention
Change in Self-Reported Physical Function
Time Frame: Measured at baseline and 6 months and 12 months after start of the intervention
Self-report of physical function will be evaluated by the Functional Status Questionnaire. The survey is a geriatric tool designed for participants to self-report capturing the participants' physical, psychological, social and role functions.
Measured at baseline and 6 months and 12 months after start of the intervention
Change in Social Support
Time Frame: Measured at baseline and 6 months and 12 months after start of the intervention
Social support for exercise will be measured using the Social Support & Exercise Survey Self-efficacy questionnaire.
Measured at baseline and 6 months and 12 months after start of the intervention
Change in Quality of Life
Time Frame: Measured at baseline and 6 months and 12 months after start of the intervention
Quality of life will be measured using EuroQual (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaire. The measure evaluates the participant's perception of their "health today" with respect to mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety depression. the items are evaluated on a 5-point scale ranging from "no problem" in the area to "extreme problem" in the area.
Measured at baseline and 6 months and 12 months after start of the intervention
Change in Self-efficacy
Time Frame: Measured at baseline and 6 months and 12 months after start of the intervention
Self efficacy will be measured using The Self-Efficacy for Exercise Scale consisting of 9 hypothetical situations like weather, boredom that could impact a person's ability to exercise.
Measured at baseline and 6 months and 12 months after start of the intervention

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.
Rush University Medical Center

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 (Actual)

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 21, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
August 30, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

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, 2026

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 15, 2022

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.
April 20, 2022

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.
April 25, 2022

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.
July 27, 2026

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.
July 24, 2026

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.
July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

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.
  • 21061405

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.

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