A Physician Guided Approach to Increasing Awareness and Sustainability for Physical Activity
Project Description:
Regular, sustainable physical activity can have a dramatic effect on reducing obesity and other secondary conditions and increasing quality of life. People with mobility limitations have a higher level of physical inactivity resulting from numerous personal and environmental barriers to physical activity participation. This randomized controlled trial will evaluate the feasibility of increasing physical activity among overweight individuals with mobility limitations through a physician-referred program that connects participants to the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability (NCPAD). Participants (N=15 ) will meet the following criteria:
• age 18 and older;
• mobility limitation (Le., difficulty walking one block or more, or using a mobility-related assistive device);
• BMI > 27;
• receive medical care at the University of Illinois Medical Center; and
• sedentary; no regular exercise over the past six months.
• Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups:
• an Awareness (control) group receiving an informational exercise brochure from their physician and a simple activity monitoring device;
• a Low Level Support group receiving a monthly telephone consultation with a fitness professional to plan a personalized exercise program and an activity monitoring device; and .
• a High Level Support group receiving all the benefits given to the first two groups plus
• membership to a health club and a monthly support group designed to identify and rectify barriers to exercise and provide support and encouragement.
Data will be collected at baseline and at 6, 12 and 18 months (follow-up). Dependent measures include medical outcomes (body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, blood lipids, and blood pressure), behavioral, psycho-social and functional outcomes (level of physical activity, functional status, social support, quality of life), and cost-effectiveness outcomes (number of physician visits and hospitalizations, change in medication status). Longitudinal outcomes will be analyzed using a mixed effects model. It is anticipated that the High Level Support group will have significantly greater health outcomes than persons in the other two groups, and that persons in the low support group will evidence significantly greater health outcomes compared to the awareness group (controls).
Keyword(s):
physician, physical activity, exercise
Core Function(s):
Training Trainees, Performing Research or Evaluation, Developing & Disseminating Information
Area of Emphasis
Quality Assurance, Health-Related Activities, Quality of Life
Target Audience:
Professionals and Para-Professionals
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
None
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
National
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
