Health is Power: An Ecological Theory-based Health Intervention for Women of Color (HIP)

March 19, 2015 updated by: Rebecca Lee, Arizona State University
Health Is Power (HIP) was a community based health intervention designed to increase physical activity among women of color. It was funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health. The purposes of the study were (1) to determine whether a 6 month, group cohesion intervention is more effective for increasing physical activity compared to a 6 month, group cohesion comparison targeting improving dietary habits (2) to determine whether residence in a neighborhood supportive for physical activity helped women maintain their physical activity from 6 to , and (3) to determine whether this effect was transculturally replicable.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Objective Physical inactivity and poor dietary habits plague Americans as health challenges, with women of color most vulnerable to their detrimental effects. Individually focused interventions have not demonstrated lasting success, possibly due to the lack of focus on sustainable social and physical environment factors. Health Is Power (HIP) was a transcultural, community based, randomized controlled trial that investigated the effectiveness of a group cohesion intervention to increase physical activity in African American and Hispanic or Latina women in Houston and Austin, Texas and then tested whether women living in more supportive areas maintained their physical activity over time. Intervention development was guided by group dynamics principles anchored within an ecologic model. Women participated in three health assessments and a six month face to face intervention that included evidence-based behavioral methods - integrated into strategies to promote group cohesion - framed to account for environmental factors contributing to health disparities. Women participated in team building activities, environmental mapping exercises, and supervised walks or taste tests. Neighborhood contextual and environmental measures were measured to test ecologic factors that may contribute to behavioral maintenance.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

410

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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

26 years to 60 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion criteria:

  • African American or Hispanic/ Latina
  • Between the ages of 25 and 60 years old
  • Able to read, speak, and write in English or Spanish
  • Not pregnant or planning to become pregnant within the next 12 months
  • Resident of Harris or Travis County, Texas
  • Not planning on moving in the next 12 months
  • Physically inactive or did not do more than 30 min of physical activity per day on 3 or more days per week
  • No history of medical illness or currently taking medication (could have medical waiver from physician if did not meet this)
  • Willing to be randomized to either a physical activity group or a vegetable and fruit group
  • Available between 5:30 and 8:00 PM on meeting dates.

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
Experimental: Physical Activity
Women completed a physical activity group cohesion intervention which included six content intensive intervention sessions over a 24 week period that focused on specific group dynamics team building strategies to increase physical activity. A small team structure was used for peer problem solving and support throughout the intervention. Teams were given weekly physical activity goals, with slowly increasing weekly minutes milestones to gradually meet recommended amounts of physical activity. Sessions included brief instructions, team-based activities, and discussion with the entire group lead by a trained health educator. The intervention sessions ended with the health educator leading the teams in a brisk 15-minute walk.
Behavioral: Group Cohesion
See description in arm/group above
Active Comparator: Fruit and Vegetable
Women completed a fruit and vegetable group cohesion intervention which involved six content intensive intervention sessions over a 24 week period that focused on specific group dynamics team building strategies to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. A small team structure was used for peer problem solving and support throughout. Teams were given weekly fruit and vegetable consumption goals at each session, with slowly increasing weekly servings milestones to gradually meet recommended amounts of fruit and vegetable consumption. Sessions included brief instructions, team-based activities, and discussion with the entire group lead by a trained health educator. The intervention sessions ended with the health educator leading the teams in a fruit and vegetable taste test.
Behavioral: Group Cohesion
See description in arm/group above

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Physical Activity as measured by accelerometry and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)
Time Frame: 6 months
women were measured at baseline and 6 month
6 months
Maintenance in Physical Activity as measured by accelerometry and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)
Time Frame: 6 months
women were measured at 6 months and 12 months
6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Arizona State University

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

May 1, 2005

Primary Completion (Actual)

April 1, 2012

Study Completion (Actual)

April 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 9, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 19, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

March 20, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

March 20, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 19, 2015

Last Verified

March 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • RebeccaLee

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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