The Clinical Referral to Activity Study

Advancement of Clinical Referral to Physical Activity for Cardiometabolic Disease Prevention

The main aim of this effort is to test a physical activity intervention, for adult clinical care patients at risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The intervention includes social-cognitive theory-based sessions, remote coaching, a body worn physical activity tracker (PAT), and is delivered online over one year. The investigators hypothesis that this intervention will be more successful at increasing physical activity (defined as objectively measured step counts and % of individuals meeting the moderate-vigorous physical activity goal) as an active control group who receives a body worn PAT and information on the CDC activity recommendations. The proposed intervention will be aligned with efforts by the US Centers for Disease Control to increase population physical activity levels and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) to increase physical activity prescription in primary care.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Obesity; PreDiabetes; Blood Pressure; Cardiovascular Risk Factor; Physical Inactivity
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: PAT; Behavioral: ActiveGOALSv2

Detailed Description

The main aim of this effort is to test a physical activity intervention, for adult clinical care patients at risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The intervention includes 13 weekly and 6 monthly social-cognitive theory-based sessions, remote coaching, a body worn physical activity tracker (PAT), and is delivered online over one year.

A total of n=54 Clinical care patients aged 40-70 years of age with low physical activity (PA) levels (<150 minutes/week) at risk for cardiovascular disease will be recruited. Study outcomes will be measured at baseline, 6 months after intervention start and 12 months after intervention start.

For the primary outcomes, the investigators hypothesize that participants randomized to ActiveGOALSv2 + PAT will have significantly larger (a) increases in step counts/day and % meeting moderate-vigorous physical activity goal of 150 minutes/week (to 12 months) compared to the active PAT control group. Descriptive analyses and graphic displays will be used to identify outliers, missing data, and pattern of attrition. To ensure rigor, the primary analytic strategy will be a linear or generalized mixed-effect models approach in which treatment group, time, and time by group interaction are treated as fixed effects, and subject is treated as a random effect to account for individual subject variability (two sided hypothesis test; .05 level). Mixed models are applicable to longitudinal datasets that contain missing observations, (assuming data is missing at random). Regression modeling will be conducted to adjust for important covariates. The investigators will perform similar analyses to examine changes in secondary outcomes. Descriptive statistics on patient experience, beliefs/attitudes related to maintenance of physical activity changes, and program cost will also be reported.

Power and sample size: For a 2 sided test with alpha level set at .05, and assuming 20% attrition at 12 months, the investigators plan to recruit 54 participants to identify clinically relevant mean difference between randomized groups at 12-months of 2000 steps/day (with a power of .80), and 35% meeting MVPA goal (with a power of .80), given reference mean (sd) values were calculated from baseline waist worn accelerometer data from the current K12 of: 5250 (2200) steps/ day and the investigators assume 5% meeting goal at baseline in the control group.

Descriptive statistics will be used to describe the total eligible population, those referred, and those referred who participated in the study; in order to determine program reach. Exploratory Analysis of Important Pre-Existing Factors: Factor analysis will be used to identify importance of factors related to physical activity levels/ activity goal achievement over the 12 month follow-up (Mplus) from participant EHR data collected prior to intervention start. Factor structures of how individual factors contribute to activity outcomes will be explored at each time point. The best factor structure will be determined with Eigenvalues and fit indices (RMSEA, CFI, and TLI). Factor structures at the 2 time points will be compared at three levels to establish measurement invariance: 1) Configural equivalence, number of factors/ pattern of factor-indicator relationships are identical over time; 2) Metric equivalence, factor loadings are equal over time; and 3) Scalar equivalence, means and values are equivalent over time. Finally, the investigators will use descriptive statistics to report presence/absence of data on physical activity levels, cardiometabolic, and patient-centered outcomes in the EHR. The investigators will apply the same regression approaches utilized in Aim 1a to determine differences between randomized groups for EHR reported outcomes.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 54
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Pennsylvania
    • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15261
      • University of Pittsburgh

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 40 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 40-70 years of age
• Low physical activity (PA) levels (<150 minutes/week)

• At least one of the following common cardiometabolic risk factors:

  • high blood pressure:> 129 mm hg SP or >89 mm hg DP or medication
  • high fasting glucose:>100 mg/dl or high HbA1c: ≥42 mmols/mol or medication
  • overweight/ obesity: BMI ≥25 kg/m2).
• Have access to the internet
• Able to read English at a 6th grade level
• Have primary care provider (PCP) permission to increase physical activity without supervision.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Have participated in a physical activity intervention program with behavior tracking and goal setting in the past year.
• Told by a physician that they have diabetes (other than previous gestational diabetes) or have received a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease, regardless of when.
• Pregnant or planning a pregnancy in <12 months
• Non-ambulatory or planning a procedure that will lead to not being ambulatory in <12 months.
• Women who become pregnant during the study will be required to get an updated referral form from their primary care provider (PCP) stating that they are able to increase their physical activity without supervision .

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: PAT (Physical activity monitor); Participants will receive a physical activity tracker and encouragement to increase physical activity.	Behavioral: PAT; Participants will receive a physical activity tracker and encouragement to increase activity.
Experimental: ActiveGOALSv2; Participants will receive the ActiveGOALS online program with an integrated activity tracker.	Behavioral: ActiveGOALSv2; 13 weekly self-guided sessions on problem solving and goal setting related to increasing physical activity, and weekly remote coaching support. Once a month support materials sent monthly from months 4-12 of intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change From Baseline in Meeting the Aerobic Activity Goal at 12 Months	Change between 0 and 12 months for y/n meeting the 150 minute/week moderate-vigorous activity goal based on minutes of activity from accelerometer	12 months versus baseline
Change From Baseline in Step Counts at 12 Months	Objectively measured change in step counts between 0 and 12 months using ActiGraph accelerometer	12 months versus baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Patient Experience	patient experience survey designed for this study with the help of patient partners to gather feedback from participants. Feedback will be used in the development of future interventions	measured at 6 and 12 months
Body Weight Over All Timepoints for 12 Months	will be measured in clinic by trained staff using a validated scale. Participants will be asked to take shoes off and wear light clothes. Average of two measures will be used; if weight is more than .5 pounds different, a third will be taken.	measured at baseline, 6 and 12 months
Waist Circumference Over All Timepoints for 12 Months	will be measured above the iliac crest in clinic by trained staff. Two measures will be taken and averaged; if measures are more than 1 cm different a third measure will be taken.	measured at baseline, 6 and 12 months
Fasting Blood Glucose Over All Timepoints for 12 Months	A fasting blood draw will be taken after 12-16 hours fast.	measured at baseline, 6 and 12 months
HbA1c Over All Timepoints for 12 Months	A fasting blood draw will be taken after 12-16 hours fast.	measured at baseline, 6 and 12 months
LDL Cholesterol Over All Timepoints for 12 Months	A fasting blood draw will be taken after 12-16 hours fast.	measured at baseline, 6 and 12 months
HDL Cholesterol Over All Timepoints for 12 Months	A fasting blood draw will be taken after 12-16 hours fast.	measured at baseline, 6 and 12 months
Perceived Health Score Over All Timepoints for 12 Months	EuroQAL Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS)-Self-reported perception of health on a 0 (lowest possible) to 100 (highest possible) scale.	measured at baseline, 6 and 12 months
Insulin Over All Timepoints for 12 Months	A fasting blood draw will be taken after 12-16 hours fast.	measured at baseline, 6 and 12 months
Triglycerides Over All Timepoints for 12 Months	A fasting blood draw will be taken after 12-16 hours fast.	measured at baseline, 6 and 12 months
Sedentary Behavior Minutes Over All Timepoints for 12 Months	Objectively measured sedentary behavior at each timepoint using ActiGraph accelerometer worn for 1 week, data for a given timepoint was averaged using only valid days during that week to assess average minutes/day. Valid days are days the monitor was worn for 10 or more hours.	baseline, 6 and 12 months
Moderate-vigorous Activity Minutes Over All Timepoints for 12 Months	Objectively measured moderate-vigorous activity at each timepoint using ActiGraph accelerometer worn for 1 week, data for a given timepoint was averaged using only valid days during that week to assess average minutes/day. Valid days are days the monitor was worn for 10 or more hours.	baseline, 6 and 12 months
Light Activity Minutes Over All Timepoints for 12 Months	Objectively measured Light activity at each timepoint using ActiGraph accelerometer worn for 1 week, data for a given timepoint was averaged using only valid days during that week to assess average minutes/day. Valid days are days the monitor was worn for 10 or more hours.	baseline, 6 and 12 months
Step Counts Over All Timepoints for 12 Months	Objectively measured Step counts at each timepoint using ActiGraph accelerometer worn for 1 week, data for a given timepoint was averaged using only valid days during that week to assess average steps/day. Valid days are days the monitor was worn for 10 or more hours.	baseline, 6 and 12 months
Systolic Blood Pressure Over All Timepoints for 12 Months	Taken by trained clinic staff using a validated automated blood pressure cuff after participant is seated in an upright position for 5 minutes. Two measure will be taken and the average of the two measures will be used. If the measures are not within 5 mmHG, a third measure will be taken.	measured at baseline, 6 and 12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Pittsburgh
• Collaborators: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Bonny Rockette-Wagner, PhD, University of Pittsburgh

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 29, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 30, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): December 10, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 10, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 3, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): February 8, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 12, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 20, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Cardiovascular disease; Physical activity; Disease prevention; Online lifestyle Intervention
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Endocrine System Diseases; Nutrition Disorders; Metabolic Diseases; Overnutrition; Body Weight; Glucose Metabolism Disorders; Diabetes Mellitus; Overweight; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Behavior; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Signs and Symptoms; Obesity; Cardiovascular Diseases; Prediabetic State; Motor Activity; Sedentary Behavior
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY20030079; 1K01HL151668-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

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