PDA+: A Personal Digital Assistant for Obesity Treatment (PDA+)

August 8, 2016 updated by: VA Office of Research and Development
The purpose of this study is to determine whether including a PDA decision support tool plus distance support enhances the outcomes attainable by the MOVE2! (Managing Obesity for Veterans Everywhere) standard care alone. Primary hypotheses are that obese patients with chronic pain who are randomized to MOVE2! + PDA + Support will a) lose more weight by 6 months, b) show greater maintenance of weight loss at 12 months, and c) display greater reduction in pain intensity and pain-related disability than those randomized to Standard Care. Secondary hypotheses are that MOVE2! + PDA + Support, compared to Standard Care will result in: a) improved quality of life, b) greater treatment adherence, and c) reduced care utilization.

Study Overview

Status

Terminated

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

An obesity epidemic is gaining momentum in the U.S. and the VA in particular. Among Veterans receiving care at VA outpatient centers in the year 2000, the prevalence of overweight was 73% and obesity was 33%. Obesity is an expensive condition partly because it contributes to the development of other chronic diseases. In addition to its adverse medical consequences, obesity takes a toll on quality of life. In general and among veterans specifically, obesity is associated with chronic pain conditions. Pain and obesity in combination adversely affect health-related quality of life and increase care utilization. To treat obesity, VA patient services has implemented MOVE! (Managing Obesity for Veterans Everywhere), a nationwide, pre-inpatient, pre-surgical standard of care. MOVE! Level 2 (MOVE2!), the platform for this study, enrolls in group treatment patients who are ready to make behavioral changes in diet and physical activity. The current study interfaces with and adds to MOVE2! treatment in order to maximize utility and sustainability in VA. The intervention in the current study involves provision of a personal digital assistant (PDA), a hand-held computer decision support tool to self-regulate diet and activity along with staff support (via telephone or e-mail per patient's preference).

Experimental Design. The current study is a 2-group prospective randomized controlled trial comparing the effects of (1) Standard Care: MOVE2! group weight loss counseling alone and (2) MOVE2! + PDA + Support. Specific aims are to enroll from VA primary care a sample of 150 obese patients who meet study criteria for chronic pain and are ready to make behavioral changes, including enrolling in MOVE2!. Primary outcomes (weight and pain) and secondary outcomes (quality of life, treatment adherence, healthcare utilization) will be measured every 3 months (baseline, treatment months 3 and 6, and follow-up months 9 and 12). Before beginning the current study, we will conduct two types of formative research. Part 1A: We will recruit 15 Veterans who are obese and have chronic pain for the purpose of pilot testing the PDA. Veterans will participate in one focus group before and one after they use the PDA for one week. Part 1B: We will also conduct focus groups with 10 MOVE! personnel and 10 staff who work in Hines Primary Care Clinic to identify perceived needs and barriers regarding implementing our PDA intervention.

Objective & Hypotheses. To determine whether the provision of a PDA decision support tool plus distance support enhance the outcomes attainable by the MOVE2! standard care alone. Primary hypotheses are that obese patients with chronic pain who are randomized to MOVE2! + PDA + Support will a) lose more weight by 6 months, b) show greater maintenance of weight loss at 12 months, and c) display greater reduction in pain intensity and pain-related disability than those randomized to Standard Care. Secondary hypotheses are that MOVE2! + PDA + Support, compared to Standard Care will result in: a) improved quality of life, b) greater treatment adherence, and c) reduced care utilization.

Data Analysis. Outcomes will be analyzed longitudinally on an intent to treat basis. The general analytic approach will be to use longitudinal mixed-effects regression models implemented via SAS PROC MIXED. Stratification variables (age, BMI, gender) will be included in all analyses.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

70

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • United States
    • Illinois
      • Hines, Illinois, United States, 60141-5000
        • Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with BMI >25 will be recruited from the primary care clinics at Hines Hospital VAMC. Enrollment of patients with this BMI criteria allows comparability with other obesity behavioral treatment trials. The enrollment policy is also consistent with the 2005 VA/DoD Practice Guideline that recommends obesity treatment for all Veterans with BMI >25.
  • Male or female Veterans
  • Age >18
  • With chronic pain (Numeric Rating Scale of pain intensity [NRS-I] > 4 for > 6 months prior to enrollment)
  • Ready to make a weight loss effort involving diet and activity change
  • Able to communicate comfortably in English.
  • The primary pain complaint must be possibly related to obesity (e.g., back, knee, leg, neck, arm, or full-body pain, and not exclusively headache or cancer-related pain).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Has an active eating disorder or substance abuse disorder --Participating in another VA-funded research project -Significant cognitive or sensorimotor impairment precluding use of the PDA
  • Already participating in a structured diet or exercise program or plans to begin such a program outside the study during the next year; requires use of an assistive device for mobility
  • At risk for adverse cardiovascular events with moderate intensity activity
  • Plans to relocate within the upcoming year

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: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Arm 1
MOVE! level 2 group weight loss counseling, the VA standard of care alone (Standard Care);
Behavioral: Use of PDA + support to reduce weight and pain
participants will attend the MOVE! group, record their food, activity, mood, pain, and weight daily via a PDA. Participants will be assigned a coach to help them set physical activity and calorie goals in order to produce a weight loss of .5%-1% per week on average over the course of 6 months. Participants will continue to log using the PDA during the 2nd 6-months for follow-up. They will also be asked to attend assessments at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.
Experimental: Arm 2
MOVE! level 2 + Personal Digital Assistant decision support tool (PDA) (Treatment)
Behavioral: MOVE! level 2 group weight loss counseling
Participants will attend the MOVE! group and will be asked to complete assessments at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Weight (Measured at Assessment Visits) and Pain Intensity and Pain Related Disability (NRS-I)
Time Frame: baseline, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months
Study was terminated by VA. No VA outcome data to report.
baseline, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

VA Office of Research and Development

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

October 1, 2007

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2009

Study Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 31, 2006

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 31, 2006

First Posted (Estimate)

September 4, 2006

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

October 7, 2016

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 8, 2016

Last Verified

August 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • F4429-I

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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