A RCT Evaluating a Chatbot in Increasing Physical Activity Among Older Adults

A Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating a Trans-Theoretical-Model-based Online Intervention Delivered by Fully-automated Chatbot in Increasing Physical Activity Among Inactive Community-dwelling People Aged ≥65 Years

This study will compare the efficacy of a Chatbot-delivered stage of changes (SOC)-tailored online intervention (intervention group) versus a Chatbot-delivered non-SOC-tailored online intervention in increasing the prevalence of meeting WHO recommended physical activity level six months after completion of the intervention among inactive community-dwelling individuals aged ≥65 yeas. In the intervention group, the Chatbot will assess participants' physical activity level and SOC regarding PA and automatically deliver interventions tailor to their SOC every week for 12 weeks. In the control group, the Chatbot will not assess participants' SOC. It will assess participants' physical activity level and provides a standard intervention covering general information about physical activity for older adults, which is not tailoring to participants'SOC every week for 12 weeks. All participants will be followed up after completion of the interventions (T1) and six months after T1 (T2).

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Physical Inactivity
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Chatbot-delivered interventions tailored to one's stage of changes; Behavioral: Chatbot-delivered standard interventions

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 278
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Zixin Wang, Dr.; Phone Number: +852 22528740; Email: wangzx@cuhk.edu.hk

Study Locations

• Hong Kong
  • Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 666888
    • Centre for Health Behaviours Research, the Chinese University of Hong Kong

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged ≥65 years,
• Having a Hong Kong ID,
• Chinese speaking,
• Not meet the WHO recommended level of MVPA
• Willing to be followed by telephone at 3 and 9 months,
• Having a smartphone
• Able to send and read text/voice message via smartphone.
• Willing to wear an accelerometer for a week at T0, T1 and T2.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Blindness or deafness,
• Having been diagnosed with major psychiatric illness (schizophrenia or bipolar disorder) or dementia,
• Score ≥1 in the Chinese version of the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q)
• Score ≤16 in the validated telephone version of the Cantonese Mini-mental State Examination (T-CMMSE)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention; The Chatbot will assess participants' physical activity level and stage of changes regarding physical activity and automatically deliver interventions tailor to their stage of changes every week for 12 weeks. The Chatbot will address questions related to physical activity raised by the participants.	Behavioral: Chatbot-delivered interventions tailored to one's stage of changes; The Chatbot will assess participants' physical activity level and stage of changes regarding physical activity and automatically deliver interventions tailor to their stage of changes every week for 12 weeks. The Chatbot will address questions related to physical activity raised by the participants.
Active Comparator: Control; The Chatbot will not assess participants' stage of changes. It will assess participants' physical activity level and provides a standard intervention covering general information about physical activity for older adults, which is not tailoring to participants' stage of changes every week for 12 weeks. The Chatbot will address questions related to physical activity raised by the participants.	Behavioral: Chatbot-delivered standard interventions; The Chatbot will not assess participants' stage of changes. It will assess participants' physical activity level and provides a standard intervention covering general information about physical activity for older adults, which is not tailoring to participants' stage of changes every week for 12 weeks. The Chatbot will address questions related to physical activity raised by the participants.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Meeting WHO recommended level of physical activity	Prevalence of meeting WHO recommended level of physical activity (at least 150 minutes moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity every week) at T1 (after completion of intervention) and T2 (6 months after T1). Physical activity will be measured by self-reported data and using an accelerometer.	9 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Chinese University of Hong Kong
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Zixin Wang, Dr., Centre for Health Behaviours Research, the Chinese University of Hong Kong

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): November 1, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 12, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 12, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): October 15, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 15, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 12, 2024
• Last Verified: October 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 20210531

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