Planning the Next Steps: Using an Implementation Intention Approach to Increase Daily Walking

Brandeis University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Self Efficacy; Control Locus; Sedentary Lifestyle

Treatments: Behavioral: Implementation Intention Condition; Behavioral: Control Group

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03124563

WalkingIntentions #15147

Details and patient eligibility

About

The study goal is to design an intervention utilizing implementation intentions to help participants prospectively plan and visualize ways to increase activity for the next day among working adults who do not currently exercise or use an activity monitor. Investigators will assess the level of and changes in physical activity, and how this relates to various individual factors that are related to exercise and health, including self-efficacy, control beliefs, and cognition.

Full description

The 5-week study consists of a 1-week baseline, where participants are asked to wear a Fitbit to document the number of steps taken that day to establish an objective measurement of steps before the intervention began. In the intervention condition, after the baseline week, during weeks 2 to 5, this condition is prompted with an email each evening for four weeks to review their schedules for the following day and identify time slots where they could add activity. They are given instructions for providing a detailed calendar of appointments and open slots for the next day using a simple daily planner. The planning implementation intention manipulation involves recording specific information about when, where, and how they will add steps to their day. They are provided with maps near their home and work with specific information about distances, estimated time to walk between different points, and number of steps for specific routes to help them in planning for specific routes.The control condition is matched for how much contact they have with the research staff (called and emailed the same amount of times) and also wear the Fitbit daily. The only difference from the intervention group is that they do not get the daily planning instructions or maps for the implementation intention strategy treatment. All activity data from the Fitbit was deidentified and aggregated with an online platform called Fitabase.

Enrollment: 63 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 35+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Currently working full time
• Not engaged in regular exercise
• 35 years of age or older

Exclusion criteria

• Not healthy enough to engage in a walking intervention

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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63 participants in 2 patient groups

Control group

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will wear a Fitbit Zip to record their daily activity data, which will be deidentified and aggregated with an online platform called Fitabase. Participants in the control group will be matched with the intervention group for how much contact they have with the researcher.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Control Group

Implementation Intention Condition

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will wear a Fitbit Zip to record their daily activity data, which will be deidentified and aggregated with an online platform called Fitabase. Participants in this arm will receive all components of the intervention: scheduling, maps, and activity goals.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Implementation Intention Condition