Substance Use and Fitness

UConn Health

Status: Completed

Conditions: Substance Abuse; Exercise

Treatments: Behavioral: contingency management

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT01305902

11-040-2

P30DA023918 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this pilot study is to estimate the effect size of a contingency management procedure that reinforces walking at rates consistent with the American College of Sports Medicine recommendations of 10,000 or more steps per day in older adults. We expect that participants randomized to the contingency management intervention will increase walking to a greater degree than those assigned to a standard care condition.

Enrollment: 45 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 55 to 75 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• age 55 - 75 years
• currently not physically active
• willing and physically able as determined by physician approval to walk 10,000 steps per day
• blood pressure of 120-159 mmHg systolic or 80-99 mmHg diastolic
• willing to meet with research staff weekly for 12 weeks

Exclusion criteria

• psychiatric or physical illness that could interfere with participation

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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45 participants in 2 patient groups

walking recommendations

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants assigned to this condition will be instructed to wear a pedometer daily and scheduled for weekly meetings over for the next 12 weeks. Each week, they will be congratulated if they walked the target goal on any days, and encouraged to meet the goals for the upcoming week. However, they will not receive any tangible reinforcement for walking. The meetings will be brief (about 15 minutes) and will include discussions and handouts related to the health benefits of walking.

contingency management for walking

Experimental group

Description:

Participants assigned to this condition will be asked to wear a pedometer daily and scheduled for weekly meetings over for the next 12 weeks. The meeting duration and structure will be similar to that in the standard treatment condition including the handouts, with one exception. Participants in this condition will earn tangible reinforcement in the form of prizes for walking the target number of steps per day.

Treatment:

Behavioral: contingency management