Assessing the Feasibility and Acceptability of a Social Identity Informed Virtual Running Group Program

NCT04857918 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: H20-03151
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 73
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The STRIDE Pilot Trial is a randomized controlled pilot trial that will utilize social identity informed virtual running groups to support underactive undergraduate students' well-being and exercise behaviour. The main outcomes of this study are to determine whether the intervention is feasible and acceptable to conduct as a full-scale efficacy trial. Secondary outcomes of interest include changes in participants' exercise identity, exercise behaviour, perceived social support, and well-being. Participants' perceived social identification with their running group will also be assessed at the end of the study.

Conditions

Well-being; Physical Activity; Identity, Social

Keywords

Feasibility; Acceptability; Well-being; Social identity; Exercise identity; Exercise; Physical Activity; Social Support

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (8)

• Feasibility and Acceptability: Participant interest in the program

  Total number of individuals expressing interest in the program.

  Recorded from recruitment to follow-up (Week 8)

• Feasibility and Acceptability: Participant enrolment

  Participant enrolment will be assessed with the total number of participants enrolled in the study.

  Follow up (Week 8)

• Feasibility and Acceptability: Affective attitudes towards exercise

  Participants' affective attitudes towards exercise will be assessed using four bipolar semantic differential adjectives (Conner et al., 2011) rated on a seven-point scale ranging from 1 to 7 (pleasant-unpleasant; enjoyable-unenjoyable; exciting-boring; satisfying-unsatisfying). The four items will be mean-scored (potential range 1-7), with higher scores reflecting higher positive affective attitudes towards exercise, and a more positive outcome.

  Change from Baseline (Week 0) to follow-up (Week 8)

• Feasibility and Acceptability: Program satisfaction

  One item, adapted from a pilot study conducted by Vincze et al. (2018), will be used to assess general satisfaction with the program. Participants (virtual running program only) will rate their satisfaction with the STRIDE program on a 5-point Likert-type scale anchored by 1 (Not at all satisfied) to 5 (Extremely satisfied). Higher scores will reflect greater program satisfaction and a more positive outcome.

  Follow-up (Week 8)

• Feasibility and Acceptability: Study Retention

  The percentage of participants who adhere to the study.

  Recorded from Baseline (Week 0) to follow up (Week 8)

• Feasibility and Acceptability: Questionnaire completion rates

  Percentage of questionnaires completed.

  Recorded from Baseline (Week 0) to follow up (Week 8)

• Feasibility and Acceptability: Program attendance

  Percentage of weekly Zoom meetings attended.

  Recorded from Baseline (Week 0) to follow up (Week 8)

• Feasibility and Acceptability: Semi structured interviews

  10 semi-structured interviews will be conducted with members of the intervention group to assess participants' experiences and satisfaction with the program, as well as their perceptions of social support, group identification, and exercise identity throughout the program.

  Follow up (Week 8)

Secondary Outcomes (9)

• Well-Being (Psychological Flourishing)

  Change from Baseline (Week 0) to follow-up (Week 8)

• Perceived Social Support Received in the Context of Exercise

  Change from Baseline (Week 0) to follow-up (Week 8)

• Well-Being (Subjective Vitality)

  Change from Baseline (Week 0) to follow-up (Week 8)

• Exercise Identity

  Change from Baseline (Week 0) to follow-up (Week 8)

• Social Identification with the Running Group

  Follow-up (Week 8)

Study Arms (2)

Social identity informed virtual running group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will join running groups of six people (males and females) for eight weeks. Each running group will be given the group goal/challenge to collectively run/brisk walk the distance across the province of British Columbia (940 km) over the course of the eight week intervention (Estabrooks et al., 2008), and encouraged to complete 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise per week. Participants can record other moderate-to-vigorous exercise to contribute to the group goal. Running groups will be created on the fitness application Strava, and participants will record/post their runs on the Strava app so that members of their running group can provide 'kudos' and words of encouragement. Running groups will have a weekly a coffee chat (via Zoom) to socialize and discuss their experiences running/exercising and progress and challenges associated with meeting the group goal. Participants will also be provided running tip videos, phone armbands, and t-shirts with the study logo.

Behavioral: Virtual running group program

Attention control group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

This group of participants will act as an attention control condition. This group will be asked to download the fitness application Strava to their smartphone, and track all of their runs and walks on Strava. Similar to the intervention group, participants will be provided with phone armbands to carry their phone during a run or walk so they can record the run or walk on Strava, and will be asked to try participating in 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise per week.

Behavioral: Attention Control: Fitness Application Strava

Interventions

Virtual running group program BEHAVIORAL

The intervention will include an eight-week virtual running group program hosted on online platforms such as Zoom and the fitness application Strava. Participants will be placed in running groups of 6 people, and each running group will have the collective goal to run/walk the distance across the province of B.C., (940 km) and will meet weekly over Zoom to socialize and discuss running topics and their progress towards the group goal. Participants will receive a t-shirt with the STRIDE logo and a phone armband for carrying their smart phone during runs and walks.

Social identity informed virtual running group

Attention Control: Fitness Application Strava BEHAVIORAL

The attention control condition will be instructed to record their exercise using the Strava application, and will be encouraged to participate in 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise each week of the intervention.

Attention control group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• currently residing in Canada
• age 18+
• enrolled in undergraduate studies at the University of British Columbia
• underactive (i.e., currently participating in less than the Canadian physical activity guidelines of 150 minutes of physical activity per week)
• not experience any health contraindication which might prevent that person from participating in moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise.
• able to speak and read English
• own a smart phone
• have home access to the internet and a device with camera functionality

You may not qualify if:

• If a potential participant has a medical contraindication (flagged through the PAR-Q+ and ePARmedX) and have NOT been cleared to participate in physical activity by their physician they are then ineligible to participate in the study
• Participants are asked to record their running and walking behaviour on the fitness application Strava, and participate in Zoom coffee chats with their running group. If an individual is unwilling to download the Strava application and/or do not want to use Zoom they will be excluded from the study.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of British Columbia: lead
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada: collaborator
• University of Victoria: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of British Columbia

Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada

Location

Related Publications (14)

• Anderson DF, Cychosz CM. Development of an exercise identity scale. Percept Mot Skills. 1994 Jun;78(3 Pt 1):747-51. doi: 10.1177/003151259407800313.

  PMID: 8084685 BACKGROUND

• Bostic, T. J., Rubio, D. M., & Hood, M. (2000). A validation of the subjective vitality scale using structural equation modelling. Social Indicators Research, 52(3), 313-324. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1541-0072.1977.tb01338.x

  BACKGROUND

• Conner M, Rhodes RE, Morris B, McEachan R, Lawton R. Changing exercise through targeting affective or cognitive attitudes. Psychol Health. 2011 Feb;26(2):133-49. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2011.531570.

  PMID: 21318926 BACKGROUND

• Courneya KS, Jones LW, Rhodes RE, Blanchard CM. Effects of different combinations of intensity categories on self-reported exercise. Res Q Exerc Sport. 2004 Dec;75(4):429-33. doi: 10.1080/02701367.2004.10609176. No abstract available.

  PMID: 15673042 BACKGROUND

• Diener, E., Wirtz, D., Tov, W., Kim-Prieto, C., Choi, D.-W., Oishi, S., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). New well-being measures: Short scales to assess flourishing and positive and negative feelings. Social Indicators Research, 97(2), 143-156.

  BACKGROUND

• Doosje, B., Ellemers, N., Spears, R. (1995) Perceived intragroup variability as a function of group status and identification. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 31(5): 410-436.

  BACKGROUND

• Estabrooks PA, Bradshaw M, Dzewaltowski DA, Smith-Ray RL. Determining the impact of Walk Kansas: applying a team-building approach to community physical activity promotion. Ann Behav Med. 2008 Aug;36(1):1-12. doi: 10.1007/s12160-008-9040-0. Epub 2008 Jul 8.

  PMID: 18607666 BACKGROUND

• Gleibs IH, Haslam C, Haslam SA, Jones JM. Water clubs in residential care: is it the water or the club that enhances health and well-being? Psychol Health. 2011 Oct;26(10):1361-77. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2010.529140. Epub 2011 May 23.

  PMID: 21598183 BACKGROUND

• Godin G, Shephard RJ. A simple method to assess exercise behavior in the community. Can J Appl Sport Sci. 1985 Sep;10(3):141-6.

  PMID: 4053261 BACKGROUND

• Haslam SA, O'Brien A, Jetten J, Vormedal K, Penna S. Taking the strain: social identity, social support, and the experience of stress. Br J Soc Psychol. 2005 Sep;44(Pt 3):355-70. doi: 10.1348/014466605X37468.

  PMID: 16238844 BACKGROUND

• Ryan RM, Frederick C. On energy, personality, and health: subjective vitality as a dynamic reflection of well-being. J Pers. 1997 Sep;65(3):529-65. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1997.tb00326.x.

  PMID: 9327588 BACKGROUND

• Vincze L, Rollo ME, Hutchesson MJ, Callister R, Collins CE. VITAL change for mums: a feasibility study investigating tailored nutrition and exercise care delivered by video-consultations for women 3-12 months postpartum. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2018 Jun;31(3):337-348. doi: 10.1111/jhn.12549. Epub 2018 Mar 15.

  PMID: 29543356 BACKGROUND

• Wilson, P. M., & Muon, S. (2008). Psychometric properties of the exercise identity scale in a university sample. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 6, 115-131.

  BACKGROUND

• Wierts CM, Rhodes RE, Faulkner G, Zumbo BD, Beauchamp MR. An online delivered running and walking group program to support low-active post-secondary students' well-being and exercise behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic: a pilot randomized controlled trial. J Behav Med. 2024 Dec;47(6):935-950. doi: 10.1007/s10865-024-00516-z. Epub 2024 Sep 3.

  PMID: 39225842 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Motor Activity; Social Identification

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior; Social Behavior

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Model Details: The study will utilize a two-arm, parallel group, unblinded randomized controlled pilot trial design. UBC undergraduate students (N = 60) will be equally randomized to either an eight-week social identity building virtual running group (n = 30) or an eight-week control group (n = 30).

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 12, 2021
• First Posted: April 23, 2021
• Study Start: April 23, 2021
• Primary Completion: May 9, 2022
• Study Completion: May 9, 2022
• Last Updated: May 20, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-05

Locations

CA (1)