R01HL155310

Peer-Based Approaches to Enhance Physical Activity in Dyads of Inactive Women - Abstract

Most adults in the U.S. fail to meet national physical activity (PA) recommendations, and minorities are less likely to meet these recommendations than non-Hispanic whites. Physical inactivity and obesity are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, diabetes, and stroke, and are important contributors to preventable morbidity and mortality in the U.S.

Social environments are widely recognized to have an important impact on PA, yet social contexts remain understudied in intervention research. The goal of the proposed research is to evaluate the effectiveness of a 6-month behavioral dyadic intervention to promote positive and sustained change in PA among inactive predominantly Latina and African American women in Houston, TX.

Dyads will first be randomly assigned to the dyadic intervention or to an individual condition. Within the individual condition, one woman from each dyad will subsequently be randomized to the individual intervention and the other woman to a health education control. The dyadic and individual interventions will consist of telephone-based health coaching, a Fitbit, and health education newsletters to enhance motivation and behavioral skills for increasing PA. The health coaching for the dyadic intervention additionally focuses on building participants' capacity to be a supportive partner by training dyads in positive communication strategies and offering support in a non-judgmental and empathetic way. The health education control will consist of a Fitbit and health education newsletters.

Study participants will include 500 predominantly Latina and African American inactive women recruited and enrolled as dyads (e.g., family or friends; N=250 dyads). The intervention expands upon a pilot randomized trial conducted by the investigative team that showed preliminary evidence of support and also identified areas for improvement. Participants will be assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months after baseline to evaluate both intermediate and long-term effects.

The primary outcome is change in minutes per week of moderate-intensity PA. Lower body strength, anthropometric measures (i.e., BMI, waist circumference), sedentary behavior, mean daily steps, and blood pressure are secondary outcomes. Autonomous motivation, social support, autonomy support, self-efficacy, and outcome expectancies will be examined as potential mediators of changes in PA.

The proposed research is innovative in its comparison of a dyadic intervention against an individual intervention and in its emphasis on dyadic social processes in addition to standard behavior change strategies. The intervention explicitly targets existing social networks to foster social environments supportive of healthy behavior change that will persist beyond the intervention period.

This research is expected to yield critical insight regarding whether and how features of social contexts can be modified to support healthy lifestyle change as a means of addressing disparities in cancer and chronic disease risk among predominantly Latina and African American women.

The Univeristy Of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

TO FOSTER HEART AND VASCULAR RESEARCH IN THE BASIC, TRANSLATIONAL, CLINICAL AND POPULATION SCIENCES, AND TO FOSTER TRAINING TO BUILD TALENTED YOUNG INVESTIGATORS IN THESE AREAS, FUNDED THROUGH COMPETITIVE RESEARCH TRAINING GRANTS. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM: TO STIMULATE TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, USE SMALL BUSINESS TO MEET FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT NEEDS, FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION IN INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP BY SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED PERSONS, AND INCREASE PRIVATE-SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FUNDING. SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM: TO STIMULATE TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER THROUGH COOPERATIVE R&D BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESSES AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, AND INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL R&D.

93.837 - Cardiovascular Diseases Research

National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) [HHS - NIH]

Houston, Texas 770304009 United States

Single Zip Code

Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Required) (PA-19-055)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 362% from $740,444 to $3,417,908.