Activating SilverSneakers Benefits for Seniors With Osteoarthritis

Penn State Health

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Physical Inactivity; Osteoarthritis

Treatments: Behavioral: Proactive Care

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06782347

BPS-2022C3-30497

Details and patient eligibility

About

The aim of this pragmatic randomized controlled trial is to test the effects of a brief proactive care intervention involving mailed material and two phone calls on: (1) increasing participation in SilverSneakers exercise programs among older adults with osteoarthritis; (2) improving physical, social and psychological outcomes identified as important to older adults with osteoarthritis; and (3) reducing costly osteoarthritis-related health service use. Approximately 1,454 older adults with osteoarthritis who have SilverSneakers access through their Medicare Advantage plan, but no prior SilverSneakers use, will be recruited to participate across the United States. Key outcome measures will be assessed over a two-year follow-up period.

Full description

Exercise is an evidence-based strategy for managing osteoarthritis, but fewer than 15% of older adults exercise regularly. Lack of access to affordable fitness facilities and resources is often identified by older adults as a key barrier to regular exercise. However, more than half of U.S. older adults are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans which include no-cost access to SilverSneakers or other similar exercise benefits. SilverSneakers benefits provide access to more than 15,000 fitness centers/gyms nationwide, and access to online- and in-person exercise classes taught at multiple fitness levels-all at no extra cost for older adults who are enrolled in participating Medicare Advantage plans. Remarkably, fewer than one-third of older adults use their insurance-covered SilverSneakers exercise benefits; with most unaware that they have access to these exercise benefits.

The investigators plan to conduct a pragmatic randomized controlled trial to compare the effects of Proactive Care, involving mailed material and phone calls plus a faxed information sheet for older adults' primary care providers, relative to Usual Care, involving the standard insurance-benefit information packet provided to older adults, on: (1) increasing participation in SilverSneakers exercise programs; (2) improving physical, social, and psychological outcomes identified as important to patients; and (3) reducing osteoarthritis-related health service use. Approximately 1,454 older adults who are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan at Humana and have no prior SilverSneakers use will be recruited across the United States. Participants will be followed over a 2-year period for key outcomes, with assessments conducted at baseline, 6, 12, and 24 months. Outcome measures will be obtained from Humana health claims databases and from self-report surveys.

The investigators hypothesize that, relative to the Usual Care group, the Proactive Care group will result in: (1) a greater proportion of participants who enroll in, and use SilverSneakers at least once; (2) a greater proportion of participants who use SilverSneakers at least one time per month at 2-year follow-up; and (3) greater mean improvements in physical functioning between baseline and 2-year follow-up. If these hypotheses are supported, and if proactive care procedures improve exercise participation and health outcomes and reduce costly health-service use, it could lead health insurers to adopt proactive care procedures more widely. Using proactive care procedures on a wider scale holds potential to help millions of older adults with osteoarthritis to access their insurance-covered exercise benefits, and improve the quality of their daily lives. Patient-, primary care-, community- and policy-level stakeholder partners will provide input throughout the project period to ensure the design, delivery and dissemination of proactive care procedures are patient-centered and incorporate diverse stakeholder perspectives.

Enrollment: 1,454 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 65+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Aged 65 and older.
• ICD-9 or ICD-10 code for hip, knee, or general osteoarthritis.
• Positive response to a standardized question from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey that asks if patient was diagnosed with osteoarthritis/arthritis and self-report confirmation of hip and/or knee pain due to their osteoarthritis/arthritis.
• Continuous enrollment for at least one year in a Humana Medicare Advantage plan which provides free SilverSneakers access and both medical and prescription drug coverage.
• Not currently or previously enrolled in SilverSneakers.
• Speak English or Spanish.
• Physical/mental capacity to provide informed consent, based on not having an ICD-9 or ICD-10 code for dementia and being able to answer three questions to verify comprehension of the informed consent form.

Exclusion criteria

• Another person in the same household is enrolling/enrolled in the study (to prevent treatment contamination, only one participant per household can participate).
• Medicare/Medicaid dual enrollment due to limited data accessibility for this group.
• Receiving hospice care or under long-term institutional care (Part C) due to limited data accessibility for this group.
• Receiving care from a provider credentialed through a delegated arrangement (i.e., delegated provider), due to limited data accessibility for this group.
• Lack of a valid mailing address in the Humana medical claims databases.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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1,454 participants in 2 patient groups

Proactive Care

Other group

Description:

The Proactive Care condition will consist of one mailing to alert older adults to the existence of their SilverSneakers benefit, followed by two action-planning phone calls to prompt activation and use of the SilverSneakers exercise benefit. The action-planning calls will guide older adults through an action plan to enroll in SilverSneakers, and choose convenient joint-friendly SilverSneakers exercise options appropriate for their fitness level. Exercise options are available both in-person and online. Older adults will also be given the option to have an information sheet about SilverSneakers sent to their primary care providers to encourage further discussion about SilverSneakers.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Proactive Care

Usual Care

No Intervention group

Description:

The Usual Care condition will include the standard information provided to Medicare Advantage beneficiaries about SilverSneakers.