SuPA Mobility: Supporting Physical Activity for Mobility in Mobility-Limited Older Adults

The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to investigate the effectiveness of a health-coaching intervention to improve physical activity in older adults with limited mobility when compared to a control, health education group.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Older Adults; Limitation, Mobility
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Health Coaching Program; Behavioral: Health Education Program

Detailed Description

A total of 290 older adults with limited mobility will be randomized to either a 26-week health coaching program or health education program. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, 13-weeks, 26-weeks (end of intervention), and 52 week (6-month follow-up period).

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 290
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Nathan Wei, B.Sc.; Phone Number: 69056 604-875-4111; Email: nathan.wei@ubc.ca

Study Locations

• Canada
  • British Columbia
    • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V5Z 1L8
      • Recruiting
      • Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute Research Pavilion
      • Contact: Nathan Wei, B.SC; Phone Number: 69056 604-875-4111; Email: cogmob.research@hiphealth.ca
      • Principal Investigator: Teresa Liu-Ambrose, Ph.D

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• scored ≤ 9/12 on the SPPB
• are able to complete the 400-m walk in ≤ 15 minutes without sitting or physical assistance from another person or walker (use of cane is acceptable)
• scored 22/30 or higher on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)
• have no significant functional impairment as indicated by a score of 6/8 or higher on the Lawton and Brody Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale
• are able to safely engage in MVPA as indicated by the PAR-Q+ and by the family or study physician as necessary
• are community-dwelling
• are able to provide written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• are diagnosed with dementia or stroke
• self-report engaging in MVPA ≥ 10 minutes per week in the prior 3 months
• are unable to understand, speak, and read English proficiently

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Health Coaching (HC); The health coaching program will be delivered by trained and certified kinesiologists utilizing Brief Action Planning (BAP) principals. The BAP behavior change approach utilizes the following 4 techniques: 1) goal-setting; 2 )action planning; 3) self-monitoring; and 4) feedback. Participants will utilize daily physical activity diaries to enable self-monitoring, and BAP coaches will provide feedback on progress toward individualized physical activity goals.	Behavioral: Health Coaching Program; The HC program will be delivered over 26-weeks. Participants will have an initial hour-long HC session where the BAP coach will conduct a brief physical assessment and work with the participant to establish their physical activity goals and develop a plan. After the initial consult, coaches will conduct 8 x 20-minute phone calls with participants over the 26-week trial decreasing from bi-weekly phone calls in weeks 1-12 to monthly phone calls in weeks 13-26. Participants in the HC group will have an overall goal of increasing their weekly participation in moderate to vigorous physical activity by 50 minutes, via 5-, 7-, or 10-minute bouts of progressive exercises, at a rate of perceived exertion range of 13-14 ("somewhat hard") by week 16. Participants will have access to specific exercise sessions made available by YouTube and/or hardcopy manuals created by the research team.; Other Names: HC
Active Comparator: Health Education Program (ED); This program is an attention control group, which consists of general health education. Education sessions will be delivered either by zoom or in person. The education sessions will cover the following topics: 1) falls prevention; 2) sleep; 3) healthy eating; 4) cognitive health; and 5) mental and emotional health.	Behavioral: Health Education Program; Participants will begin with a one-hour, group-based, interactive education session on falls prevention delivered either in-person or by Zoom. Following the initial education session, ED participants will receive additional group education sessions (in-person or by Zoom) with the same duration and schedule as the HC program covering a variety of healthy aging topics.; Other Names: ED

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mobility	Measured by the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB)	Baseline, 13-weeks, 26-weeks, 52-weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Capacity to complete the 400-m walk in ≤ 15 minutes	measured as yes or no	Baseline, 13- weeks, 26-weeks, 52-weeks
Cognitive function	Measured with the NIH Toolbox and standard neuropsychological assessments	Baseline, 26-weeks, 52-weeks
Community mobility	Measured with the Life Space Questionnaire	Baseline, 13-weeks, 26-weeks, 39-weeks, 52-weeks
Lower extremity strength	Measured with strain gauge (kilograms) on dominant quadriceps	Baseline, 13- weeks, 26-weeks, 52-weeks
Grip strength	Measured with digital Jamar isometric dynamometer (Newtons)	Baseline, 13-weeks, 26-weeks, 52-weeks
Mood	Measured by the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)	Baseline, 13-weeks, 26-weeks, 39-weeks, 52-weeks
Sleep	Measured with 19-item Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index	Baseline, 13-weeks, 26-weeks, 39-weeks, 52-weeks
Sleep	Measured by accelerometer	Baseline, 13-weeks, 26-weeks, 52-weeks
Falls	Assessed with monthly calendar and questionnaire	Baseline, monthly
Health resource utilization	Assessed with a questionnaire	Baseline, 13-weeks, 26-weeks, 39-weeks, 52-weeks
Fatigue	Measured by the 9-item Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) scored from 9 to 63, with higher scores indicating more severe fatigue	Baseline, 13-weeks, 26-weeks, 39-weeks, 52-weeks
Physical activity	Time spent moderate to vigorous physical activity and sedentary time measured by accelerometer.	Baseline, 13-weeks, 26-weeks, 52-weeks
Self reported physical activity	Measured by the Community Health Activities Model Program for Seniors (CHAMPS) Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Adults.	Baseline, 13-weeks, 26-weeks, 52-weeks
Gait speed	Measured during the 4-m walk	Baseline, 13- weeks, 26-weeks, 52-weeks
Functional mobility	Measured as the time to complete the Timed Up-and-Go (TUG)	Baseline, 13-weeks, 26-weeks, 39-weeks, 52-weeks
Health-related quality of life	Measured with questionnaire EuroQol (EQ-5D-5L)	Baseline, 13-weeks, 26-weeks, 39-weeks, 52-weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of British Columbia
• Collaborators: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Teresa Liu-Ambrose, PhD, University of British Columbia

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Rice J, Li LC, Davis JC, Pahor M, Madden K, Wei N, Wong H, Skelton DA, McCormick S, Falck RS, Barha CK, Rhodes RE, Loomba S, Sadatsafavi M, Liu-Ambrose T. Supporting physical activity for mobility in older adults with mobility limitations (SuPA Mobility): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2023 Nov 28;24(1):769. doi: 10.1186/s13063-023-07798-9.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 5, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 28, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 28, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): August 7, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 13, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 10, 2026
• Last Verified: January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: physical activity; exercise; health coaching; limited mobility
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Behavior; Signs and Symptoms; Mobility Limitation; Motor Activity
• Other Study ID Numbers: H21-00858

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