A Social Media Game to Increase Physical Activity Among Older Adult Women (CHALLENGE)

This study will test the effects of a social media game on the physical activity of older adult women. The game will consist of playful weekly challenges that require sharing photographs on a private social media group and also wearing an activity monitor to track steps. Participants will be randomized to this game group or to receive the activity monitor only.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Aging
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Social media game; Behavioral: Standard self-regulation

Detailed Description

Older adult women are at risk for negative health impacts of physical inactivity, but current strategies to increase their activity have had disappointing long-term results. The intervention tested in this study seeks to test an innovative intervention that targets older womens' perceptions of enjoyment and their personal identity and values. The investigators will test the efficacy of a 12-month social media-based physical activity intervention for sedentary older adult women. Participants will be randomized to receive a standard Fitbit-only intervention or to an enhanced Fitbit + weekly social challenges intervention. The investigators hypothesize that participants in the enhanced intervention will demonstrate greater increases in autonomous regulation and objectively-measured steps as compared to those in the standard intervention. The investigators will also measure outcomes after a 6 month maintenance period (18 months after beginning the intervention). Additional outcomes will include engagement with the social network and self-reported playful experiences.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 300
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Eloisa Martinez, BS; Phone Number: 409-266-9643; Email: esmartin@utmb.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Elizabeth Lyons, PhD, MPH; Phone Number: 409-772-2575; Email: ellyons@utmb.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Texas
    • Galveston, Texas, United States, 77550
      • Recruiting
      • The University of Texas Medical Branch
      • Contact: Eloisa Martinez; Phone Number: 409-266-9643; Email: esmartin@utmb.edu
      • Principal Investigator: Elizabeth J Lyons, PhD, MPH

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 65 years to 85 years (Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Female
2. Age between 65 and 85
3. Able to read and understand English
4. Willingness to be randomized to any condition
5. Daily availability of an iOS or Android mobile device that is capable of taking and sending photos
6. Willingness to use a private Facebook group
7. Sufficient internet access to post photos to Facebook at least once per week
8. Having an existing Facebook account or willingness to create one

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Unable to find transportation to the study location
2. Unable to walk for exercise (self-report)
3. Walk <475 meters in 6 minute walk test during baseline assessment
4. Stroke, hip fracture, hip or knee replacement, or spinal surgery in the past 6 months
5. Participant answered "yes" to any question on the PAR-Q+ and does not provide a doctor's note giving permission to begin a physical activity program
6. Self-reported weekly PA ≥ 150 minutes
7. BMI under 18 or over 40
8. Participant reports psychological issues that would interfere with study completion. Examples will be provided to illustrate potential psychological issues, such as dementia or schizophrenia.
9. Participant plans to move away from the Galveston-Houston area or to be out of town for more than 2 weeks at a time during the study period
10. Clinical judgment concerning safety
11. Currently participating in an organized commercial or research physical activity program
12. Uses a wearable activity monitor other than a simple pedometer and is unwilling to stop during the trial
13. Another member of the household is a participant or staff member on this trial

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Social media game; Private Facebook group with weekly walking challenges, Fitbit wearable activity monitor, and brief counseling	Behavioral: Social media game; Participants will engage in weekly challenges that require them to take photographs of interesting things they discover during their walks. They will post and discuss these photographs with other participants on a private social media page. They will track their steps using a wearable activity monitor and receive brief standard self-regulatory counseling.
Active Comparator: Standard self-regulation; Fitbit wearable activity monitor and brief counseling	Behavioral: Standard self-regulation; Participants will track their steps using a wearable activity monitor and receive brief standard self-regulatory counseling.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Walking physical activity as measured by daily steps at 12 months	Mean of daily steps taken from accelerometers worn for a 7 day period	Baseline to 12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Walking physical activity as measured by daily steps at 6 months	Mean of daily steps taken from accelerometers worn for a 7 day period	Baseline to 6 months
Walking physical activity as measured by daily steps at 18 months	Mean of daily steps taken from accelerometers worn for a 7 day period	Baseline to 18 months
Intrinsic regulation	Self-reported intrinsic regulation on a scale from 0 (least motivated) to 4 (most motivated) using the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire - 3	Baseline to 6 months
Integrated regulation	Self-reported integrated regulation on a scale from 0 (least motivated) to 4 (most motivated) using the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire - 3	Baseline to 6 months
Autonomous regulation	Composite of subscales for intrinsic, integrated, and identified regulation as measured on a scale from 0 (least motivated) to 4 (most motivated) using the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire - 3	Baseline to 6 months
Basic psychological needs	Perceptions of autonomy, competence, and relatedness on a scale from 1 (don't agree) to 5 (completely agree) using the Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale	Baseline to 6 months
Physical activity as measured by minutes of moderate-vigorous intensity physical activity at 6 months	Mean daily minutes of moderate-vigorous intensity physical activity taken from accelerometers for a 7 day period	Baseline to 6 months
Physical activity as measured by minutes of moderate-vigorous intensity physical activity at 12 months	Mean daily minutes of moderate-vigorous intensity physical activity taken from accelerometers for a 7 day period	Baseline to 12 months
Physical activity as measured by minutes of moderate-vigorous intensity physical activity at 18 months	Mean daily minutes of moderate-vigorous intensity physical activity taken from accelerometers for a 7 day period	Baseline to 18 months

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Exercise identity	Perceptions of exercise identity on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree) on the Exercise Identity Scale	Baseline to 6 months
Engaged living	Perceptions of value-based living on a scale of 1 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree) on the Engaged Living Questionnaire	Baseline to 6 months
Playful experiences	Self-reported playful experiences during play of the game on a scale of 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree) using the Playful Experiences Questionnaire	Baseline to 6 months
Usability	Self-reported usability of the social media group on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) using the System Usability Scale	Baseline to 6 months
Acceptability of walking challenge game	Self-reported acceptability of challenges on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)	Baseline to 6 months
Engagement in the social media group	Objectively measured number of posts, comments, and reactions in the Facebook group	Baseline to 12 months
Days the activity monitor was worn	Objectively measured days the wearable activity monitor was worn during the intervention period	Baseline to 12 months
Enjoyment of each weekly challenge	Self-reported enjoyment measured via weekly text message inquiring as to enjoyment on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree)	Baseline to 12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston
• Collaborators: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; National Institute on Aging (NIA)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Lyons, PhD, MPH, University of Texas

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 1, 2019
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 31, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 17, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 17, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): September 19, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 27, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 26, 2023
• Last Verified: June 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Physical activity; Social media; Wearable; Women's health; Game; Intrinsic motivation
• Other Study ID Numbers: 19-0158; R01AG064092 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: The investigators will provide access to all data, regardless of publication, collected as a part of this project. All external investigators must submit a written request identifying their research question(s) and specifying the data they would like to analyze. The request must include a data security plan and explanation of how the data will be stored and who will have access. All requests will be reviewed by the investigators in conjunction with UTMB's Institute for Translational Sciences key resources (in particular, the regulatory and ethics resources) to be sure appropriate NIH requirements are followed.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Data will only be available upon request
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: All external investigators must submit a written request identifying their research question(s) and specifying the data they would like to analyze. The request must include a data security plan and explanation of how the data will be stored and who will have access. All requests will be reviewed by the investigators in conjunction with UTMB's Institute for Translational Sciences key resources (in particular, the regulatory and ethics resources) to be sure appropriate NIH requirements are followed.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP

Drug and device information, study documents

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