Residential MapTrek- Increasing Physical Activity Among Older Adults in a Residential-Living

Older adults are a growing population, with projections to reach 83.7 million by 2050. Furthermore, older adults are the most sedentary and least physically active adult population. It is estimated that nearly 90% of older adults 65 years of age or older do not meet the recommended levels of physical activity. Evidence suggests great health benefits can be achieved for older adults who are the most sedentary, and that replacing sitting with even light intensity walking can be beneficial.

The overarching goal of the project is to develop an inexpensive and scalable tool to increase volume of physical activity in our target population, older adults living in a residential facility. MapTrek is a web-based application that allows participants to take a virtual walk in interesting locations around the world while tracking their progress against the progress of other older adults living in a retirement community. Steps are counted using a commercially available accelerometer (e.g., Fitbit), and participants see their progress overlaid on Google Maps.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Sedentary Behavior
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: MapTrek

Detailed Description

All participants will be provided with a Fitbit activity monitor and instructed to wear it 24 hours/day (except for bathing/swimming time) on their wrist for 12 weeks. Participants will participate in four team-based walking races, each two weeks long. Participants will view their team progress on TV monitors placed in various locations at the Oaknoll facility. The Oaknoll leadership has given the research team approval to do this at their facility. The monitors will present aggregated team data and will not report any individual data that could link back to the individual participant.

At the end of the 8 week active intervention, research team members will meet with participants at Oaknoll to administer an exit/process evaluation survey. The exit survey will ask about psychosocial predictors of physical activity as well as participants thoughts and opinions of the MapTrek game. This survey should take approximate 10-15 minutes to complete. The participants will then be asked to wear the Fitbit for four more weeks without playing MapTrek, which will act as a control condition since this is a single-arm study.

The specific aims of the study are:

1. To determine the efficacy of MapTrek for improving physical activity levels of older adults living in a residential facility from baseline to 8 weeks.
2. To determine the efficacy of MapTrek for improving psychosocial outcomes(e.g., self-efficacy, social support, outcome expectations, social isolation) among older adults living in a residential facility from baseline to 8 weeks.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 68
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Iowa
    • Iowa City, Iowa, United States, 52242
      • University of Iowa

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 25 years to 100 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• To be eligible, participants much be between 25 and 100 years of age, physically able to walk without limitations

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with cognitive or physical limitations that prohibit walking and visual or cognitive impairments causing inability to read.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: MapTrek	Behavioral: MapTrek; Participants will receive a Fitbit activity monitor and access to the MapTrek game which will be visible on monitors set up in the residential facility.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Physical Activity	Daily steps	8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Self-efficacy	Self-efficacy was measured with the Self-Efficacy for Exercise scale, a 13-item questionnaire designed to assess participants' self-efficacy related to their ability to continue exercising in the face of barriers.	8 weeks
Social Support	Social support for physical activity was measured with a modified version of the Social Support and Exercise Survey. The Social Support and Exercise Survey is a 12-item (originally 13 item) questionnaire that assesses the level of support from family and friends that participants have in making health behavior changes (exercise)	8 weeks
Outcome Expectations	Outcome expectations were measured with the Outcome Expectations for Exercise Scale. The Outcome Expectations for Exercise is a valid and reliable 9-item scale that assesses the participant's outcome expectations and benefits associated with exercise.	8 weeks
Social Isolation	Social isolation was measured with a modified version of the Friendship Scale. The Friendship Scale is a 5-item (originally 6-item) scale that assesses 6 dimensions contributing to social isolation	8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Iowa
• Collaborators: National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Lucas Carr, PhD, University of Iowa

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 17, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 22, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): September 22, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 30, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 30, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): August 1, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 15, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 11, 2023
• Last Verified: May 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Walking; Older adults; Fitbit
• Other Study ID Numbers: 201904816; UL1TR002537 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No