Association Between Inpatient Steps Per Day and Patient Functional Status/Disposition

NYU Langone Health

Status: Completed

Conditions: Physical Medicine

Treatments: Other: Standard of Care; Behavioral: Ambulation

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03595605

17-01792

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study will incorporate the use of wearable actigraphy devices (Fitbit) on research participants admitted to medicine inpatient units at Tisch Hospital and/or NYU Brooklyn. The investigator's sample size will be 600 randomized into two groups, with basic inclusion criteria including age greater than 65 years and pre-hospital ambulatory status. While both groups will be monitored in terms of their activity (specifically pedometer data), the intervention group will have twice daily encouragement of ambulation. Once a subject is enrolled, data will be collected daily and at time of discharge.

Enrollment: 51 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 66 to 100 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Admitted to acute inpatient medicine unit
• Ambulatory without assistive device prior to hospitalization
• Medical clearance to ambulate on the unit
• Active MyChart account or willing to activate MyChart account
• iOS or Android device

Exclusion criteria

• Patients less than or equal to 65 years old
• Not Admitted to acute inpatient medicine unit
• Ambulatory with assistive device prior to hospitalization
• No Medical clearance to ambulate on the unit
• Inactive MyChart account and not willing to activate MyChart account
• No iOS or Android device

In addition, an individual who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study:

• Oxygen requirement at rest
• Lower extremity prosthesis
• Admitted for joint replacement surgery
• History of frequent falls
• Admitted for syncope.
• If patients have specifically opted out of being contacted about research (visible in the Epic header while in their chart)
• Admitted from nursing home

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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51 participants in 2 patient groups

FitBit Group

Experimental group

Description:

Will receive a wearable device (FitBit) designed to track number of steps for the duration of their hospital stay. They will receive nudges twice/day to ambulate

Treatment:

Behavioral: Ambulation

Control Group-Standard of Care

Active Comparator group

Description:

300 subjects who will receive usual standard of care on a general inpatient medicine unit with the addition of a wearable device (FitBit) to track usual mobility in this setting. will complete their admission without push for increased activity (although having the device may influence their steps taken).

Treatment:

Other: Standard of Care