Purpose

This research study will investigate the independent effects of an environmental intervention (E only), an individual-level eHealth phone program intervention (I only), or both (E+I) on changes in moderate intensity physical activity. A cluster randomized design will be implemented whereby all residents of one of 12 of Boston's public housing developments (PHDs) will be randomized to one of the four study groups (E only, I only, E+I, or control). The activities with this multilevel design include: - Screening/enrollment/baseline assessment activities - Environmental components to promote moderate intensity walking and other physical activity at the PHDs - Changing the environment surrounding the development making it more amenable to walking through the creation of walking trails and walking maps; and advocating for changes to the built environment - Healthy Living Advocates (HLA)-led walking groups within the community - Individual level components to increase motivation and self-efficacy for physical activity - eHealth program, an automated telephone-based physical activity program - 12-month and 24-month follow up assessment activities The investigators hypothesize that the participants living in the PHDs in any of the three intervention groups (E only, I only, and E+I combined) will increase minutes of moderate intensity physical activity more than participants in control group developments at 24-month follow up. It is further expected that delivery of an intervention package targeting environmental and social cues to become active, combined with an individual level intervention, will improve overall physical activity levels to recommended guidelines at the development level. The findings will inform future health promotion efforts among residents in public housing developments.

Condition

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Over 18 Years
Eligible Genders
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  • Willing to wear device to track physical activity during assessment periods - Able to speak English or Spanish - Current resident of Boston Public Housing Development or housing property on Boston Housing Authority owned land - No plans to move within the next 2 years - Has access to a phone (of any kind)

Exclusion Criteria

  • Currently enrolled in a research study about physical activity that is incompatible with study participation - Unable to provide informed consent in judgement of research assistant

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Factorial Assignment
Primary Purpose
Health Services Research
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
Environmental group intervention (E only)
Changing the environment surrounding the PHDs making it more amenable to walking and advocating for changes to the built environment
  • Other: Environment program
    The environment surrounding the PHDs will be changed to make it more amenable to walking by creating walking trails and walking maps and using Healthy Living Advocates (HLA)-led walking groups within the community. Also advocating for changes to the built environment.
Experimental
Individual-level eHealth phone program intervention (I only)
An automated telephone-based physical activity program.
  • Other: eHealth phone program
    The automated eHealth phone program uses text to speech technology to deliver educational content to increase awareness, confidence, and motivation for physical activity.
Experimental
Combined group (E and I interventions)
Changing the environment surrounding the PHDs making it more amenable to walking and advocating for changes to the built environment and an automated telephone-based physical activity program.
  • Other: eHealth phone program
    The automated eHealth phone program uses text to speech technology to deliver educational content to increase awareness, confidence, and motivation for physical activity.
  • Other: Environment program
    The environment surrounding the PHDs will be changed to make it more amenable to walking by creating walking trails and walking maps and using Healthy Living Advocates (HLA)-led walking groups within the community. Also advocating for changes to the built environment.
No Intervention
Control group (no interventions)
No interventions for residents to increase activity levels.

More Details

Status
Active, not recruiting
Sponsor
Tufts Medical Center

Study Contact

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.