Digital Health Weight Management Among Public Housing Residents

NCT04852042 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: H-415901R01CA238335-01A1
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 316
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This research will test the efficacy of a weight management intervention through a three-group randomized trial: mHealth only, mHealth+Community Health Worker (CHW) support, versus control group, among residents of Boston's public housing developments. The mHealth group consists of a 1-year text messaging program to promote diet and physical activity behavior changes and the CHW support consists of monthly phone counseling delivered by a CHW to support the text messaging program. Our hypothesis is that the mHealth+CHW group will be more effective in bringing about weight loss compared to mHealth alone or the assessment only control group. The findings are expected to inform future health promotion efforts among residents in public housing developments.

Conditions

Weight Change, Body; Obesity

Keywords

Community health workers; Public housing residents; Behavioral interventions; Healthy eating; Physical activity

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Weight at 12-month follow up

  Weight will be objectively measured by study staff using standard procedures using an accurate electronic scale designed for portable use measured to the nearest 1/10th reading.

  Baseline, 12-month follow up

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Change in Weight at 6-month follow up

  Baseline, 6-month follow up

• Diet behavior

  Baseline, 6-month follow up, 12-month follow up

• Physical activity behavior

  Baseline, 6-month follow up, 12-month follow up

• Psycho-social variables

  Baseline, 6-month follow up, 12-month follow up

Study Arms (3)

mHealth Group

EXPERIMENTAL

12 month text messaging program about diet and physical activity behavioral goals

Behavioral: mHealth

mHealth+Community Health Worker (CHW) support

EXPERIMENTAL

same as mHealth group + monthly behavioral phone counseling by a CHW

Behavioral: mHealth; Behavioral: CHW support

Control group

NO INTERVENTION

Assessments only

Interventions

mHealth BEHAVIORAL

Participants will receive 2-3 text messages daily. The messages will include information to promote healthy eating and physical activity.

mHealth Group; mHealth+Community Health Worker (CHW) support

CHW support BEHAVIORAL

The CHW will provide behavioral counseling to participants guided by a study website related to their healthy eating and physical activity goals.

mHealth+Community Health Worker (CHW) support

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Current resident of Boston public housing development
• No plans to move within the next 6 months and no plan on leaving the country for more than 2 months over the next year
• Able to read and speak in English or Spanish
• Has cell phone with a plan that allows for unlimited text messages
• Willing to wear a device to track physical activity during assessment periods

You may not qualify if:

• Currently enrolled in a comprehensive weight loss program or a research study about weight that is incompatible with study participation
• Currently on a medically prescribed diet or fast that is incompatible with study participation
• Currently has a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, mania, manic-depressive disorder, schizophrenia, or psychosis and is not on any medications to treat the condition
• Precontemplation stage of change for making healthy eating or physical activity changes
• Pregnancy
• Medical contraindications to physical activity. Self-reported presence of any of the following:
• Can not walk without help from someone else
• Regularly needs to use the following special equipment to walk or get around: wheelchair, scooter, walker, or extra oxygen
• Gets short of breath even when using special equipment at a very low level of physical activity such as walking around the home, making a bed, or taking a bath
• Advised by a healthcare professional not to exercise and or if diagnosed with a bone or joint problem, it could get worse.
• Frequently gets pains in the heart or chest
• Had a heart attack in the past 6 months
• Often feels faint or has spells of severe dizziness
• Has very high blood pressure that is often over 175 or the bottom blood pressure number is often over 110
• Has a good physical reason not to follow an activity program even if they wanted to

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Tufts Medical Center: lead
• National Institutes of Health (NIH): collaborator
• National Cancer Institute (NCI): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Boston Medical Center

Boston, Massachusetts, 02118, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Solar C, Nansubuga A, Murillo J, Ranker L, Borrelli B, Bowen DJ, Xuan Z, Kane J, Werntz S, Crouter SE, Quintiliani LM. Mobile health plus community health worker support for weight management among public housing residents (Path to Health): A randomized controlled trial protocol. Contemp Clin Trials. 2022 Aug;119:106836. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2022.106836. Epub 2022 Jun 18.

  PMID: 35724842 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Body Weight Changes; Obesity; Motor Activity

Interventions

Telemedicine

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Body Weight; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Overweight; Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Delivery of Health Care; Patient Care Management; Health Services Administration

Study Officials

• Lisa Quintiliani, PhD

  Tufts Medical Center

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Ziming Xuan, ScD

  BU School of Public Health, Community Health Services

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 16, 2021
• First Posted: April 21, 2021
• Study Start: September 28, 2021
• Primary Completion: August 7, 2025
• Study Completion: August 11, 2025
• Last Updated: September 26, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)