NCT05425641

Brief Summary

This study is a randomized, factorial experiment using the basic Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) approach to efficiently test the effects of four distinct behavior change techniques (BCTs), goal setting, action planning, self- monitoring and feedback, thought to engage one key behavioral mechanism of action (MoA) for improving daily walking by at least 1000 steps per day in persons who have been objectively verified as sedentary and are at risk for cardiovascular disease.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
606

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for phase_2 cardiovascular-diseases

Timeline
Completed

Started Sep 2022

Typical duration for phase_2 cardiovascular-diseases

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

June 8, 2022

Completed
13 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

June 21, 2022

Completed
3 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

September 12, 2022

Completed
3.3 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

January 12, 2026

Completed
1 day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

January 13, 2026

Completed
Last Updated

February 27, 2026

Status Verified

February 1, 2026

Enrollment Period

3.3 years

First QC Date

June 8, 2022

Last Update Submit

February 24, 2026

Conditions

Keywords

Sedentary BehaviorPhysical ActivityBehavior ChangeBehavior Change TechniquesVirtualCardiovascular Health

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

  • Change in Longitudinally Measured Self-Efficacy

    Self-efficacy, the hypothesized mechanism of action, will be assessed using the Self-Efficacy for Walking - Duration (SEW-DUR) scale, a 10-item measure assessing patient's capabilities to walk for durations of 5 to 50 minutes. Items are scored from 0 to 100%, with scores of 0% indicating participants are "not at all confident" they could walk for that duration and scores of 100% indicating the participants are "highly confident" they could walk that duration. Items are average to create a total score, with higher scores indicating higher levels of beliefs about capabilities/self-efficacy. The effect of the BCT intervention on longitudinal self-efficacy for physical activity will be assessed using linear mixed effects models, which include a random participant effect, fixed BCT intervention effects, a fixed time effect, and fixed BCT-time interaction. Potential moderators (including participant age, gender, and baseline physical activity) will also be examined.

    Self-efficacy will be assessed every two weeks during the baseline (4 weeks), intervention (8 weeks), and follow-up (12 weeks) periods.

  • Change in Longitudinally Measured Physical Activity due to Self-Efficacy.

    Participant steps will be assessed continuously using a Fitbit activity tracking device. Daily steps for participants will be aggregated by baseline, intervention, and follow-up phases to generate average daily steps in each phase. Associations between self-efficacy and physical activity will be assessed using linear mixed effects models, which include a random participant effect, fixed self-efficacy intervention effects, a fixed time effect, and fixed self-efficacy-time interaction. Potential moderators (including participant age, gender, and baseline physical activity) will also be examined.

    Steps will be assessed continuously via worn activity tracker. Step counts will be aggregated and analyzed at the daily level during the baseline (4 weeks), intervention (8 weeks), and follow-up (12 weeks) periods.

Secondary Outcomes (2)

  • Change in Longitudinally Measured Physical Activity due to the BCT Intervention

    Steps will be assessed continuously via worn activity tracker. Step counts will be aggregated and analyzed at the daily level during the baseline (4 weeks), intervention (8 weeks), and follow-up (12 weeks) periods.

  • Indirect Effect of the BCT Intervention on Physical Activity

    Steps will be assessed continuously via worn activity tracker. Step counts will be aggregated and analyzed at the daily level during the baseline (4 weeks), intervention (8 weeks), and follow-up (12 weeks) periods.

Other Outcomes (5)

  • Participant Satisfaction with the BCT Intervention

    Satisfaction will be assessed monthly during the intervention (8 weeks in duration).

  • Participant Satisfaction with the Trial Components

    Satisfaction will be assessed at the completion of the follow-up period (24 weeks from baseline).

  • Participant Adherence to BCT Intervention Arm.

    Assessed once after the completion of the intervention (12 weeks from baseline).

  • +2 more other outcomes

Study Arms (16)

Goal Setting and Action Planning and Self-Monitoring and Feedback

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will receive daily text messages that include the Goal Setting, Action Planning, Self-Monitoring, and Feedback behavior change techniques (BCTs) with the goal of increasing daily walking by 1,000 more steps than their baseline average step count.

Behavioral: Goal SettingBehavioral: Action PlanningBehavioral: Self-Monitoring of BehaviorBehavioral: Feedback on Behavior

Goal Setting and Action Planning and Feedback

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will receive daily text messages that include the Goal Setting, Action Planning, and Feedback behavior change techniques (BCTs) with the goal of increasing daily walking by 1,000 more steps than their baseline average step count.

Behavioral: Goal SettingBehavioral: Action PlanningBehavioral: Feedback on Behavior

Goal Setting and Self-Monitoring and Feedback

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will receive daily text messages that include the Goal Setting, Self-Monitoring, and Feedback behavior change techniques (BCTs) with the goal of increasing daily walking by 1,000 more steps than their baseline average step count.

Behavioral: Goal SettingBehavioral: Self-Monitoring of BehaviorBehavioral: Feedback on Behavior

Goal Setting and Action Planning, and Self-Monitoring

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will receive daily text messages that include the Goal Setting, Action Planning, and Self-Monitoring behavior change techniques (BCTs) with the goal of increasing daily walking by 1,000 more steps than their baseline average step count.

Behavioral: Goal SettingBehavioral: Action PlanningBehavioral: Self-Monitoring of Behavior

Action Planning and Self-Monitoring, and Feedback

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will receive daily text messages that include the Action Planning, Self-Monitoring, and Feedback behavior change techniques (BCTs) with the goal of increasing daily walking by 1,000 more steps than their baseline average step count.

Behavioral: Action PlanningBehavioral: Self-Monitoring of BehaviorBehavioral: Feedback on Behavior

Goal Setting and Action Planning

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will receive daily text messages that include the Goal Setting and Action Planning behavior change techniques (BCTs) with the goal of increasing daily walking by 1,000 more steps than their baseline average step count.

Behavioral: Goal SettingBehavioral: Action Planning

Goal Setting and Self-Monitoring

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will receive daily text messages that include the Goal Setting and Self-Monitoring behavior change techniques (BCTs) with the goal of increasing daily walking by 1,000 more steps than their baseline average step count.

Behavioral: Goal SettingBehavioral: Self-Monitoring of Behavior

Goal Setting and Feedback

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will receive daily text messages that include the Goal Setting and Feedback behavior change techniques (BCTs) with the goal of increasing daily walking by 1,000 more steps than their baseline average step count.

Behavioral: Goal SettingBehavioral: Feedback on Behavior

Action Planning and Self-Monitoring

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will receive daily text messages that include the Action Planning and Self-Monitoring behavior change techniques (BCTs) with the goal of increasing daily walking by 1,000 more steps than their baseline average step count.

Behavioral: Action PlanningBehavioral: Self-Monitoring of Behavior

Action Planning and Feedback

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will receive daily text messages that include the Action Planning and Feedback behavior change techniques (BCTs) with the goal of increasing daily walking by 1,000 more steps than their baseline average step count.

Behavioral: Action PlanningBehavioral: Feedback on Behavior

Self-Monitoring and Feedback

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will receive daily text messages that include the Self-Monitoring and Feedback behavior change techniques (BCTs) with the goal of increasing daily walking by 1,000 more steps than their baseline average step count.

Behavioral: Self-Monitoring of BehaviorBehavioral: Feedback on Behavior

Goal Setting

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will receive daily text messages with the Goal Setting behavior change technique (BCT) with the goal of increasing daily walking by 1,000 more steps than their baseline average step count.

Behavioral: Goal Setting

Action Planning

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will receive daily text messages with the Action Planning behavior change technique (BCT) with the goal of increasing daily walking by 1,000 more steps than their baseline average step count.

Behavioral: Action Planning

Self-Monitoring

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will receive daily text messages with the Self-Monitoring behavior change technique (BCT) with the goal of increasing daily walking by 1,000 more steps than their baseline average step count.

Behavioral: Self-Monitoring of Behavior

Feedback

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will receive daily text messages with the Feedback behavior change technique (BCT) with the goal of increasing daily walking by 1,000 more steps than their baseline average step count.

Behavioral: Feedback on Behavior

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Participants in this arm will not receive any daily BCT text messages. Instead, individuals receive daily text messages with the text "Please acknowledge that you have received this text message."

Interventions

Goal SettingBEHAVIORAL

Individuals will receive daily text messages that include the Goal Setting behavior change technique (BCT) with the goal of increasing daily walking by 1,000 more steps than their baseline average step count. An example of the Goal Setting BCT is "Is your goal to walk an extra 1,000 steps more than your baseline average?".

Goal SettingGoal Setting and Action PlanningGoal Setting and Action Planning and FeedbackGoal Setting and Action Planning and Self-Monitoring and FeedbackGoal Setting and Action Planning, and Self-MonitoringGoal Setting and FeedbackGoal Setting and Self-MonitoringGoal Setting and Self-Monitoring and Feedback
Action PlanningBEHAVIORAL

Individuals will receive daily text messages that include the Action Planning behavior change technique (BCT) with the goal of increasing daily walking by 1,000 more steps than their baseline average step count. An example of the Action Planning BCT is "Take one minute and plan for today how, where and when you can walk an extra 1,000 steps more than your baseline average. Have you planned for today?"

Action PlanningAction Planning and FeedbackAction Planning and Self-MonitoringAction Planning and Self-Monitoring, and FeedbackGoal Setting and Action PlanningGoal Setting and Action Planning and FeedbackGoal Setting and Action Planning and Self-Monitoring and FeedbackGoal Setting and Action Planning, and Self-Monitoring

Individuals will receive daily text messages that include the Self-Monitoring behavior change technique (BCT) with the goal of increasing daily walking by 1,000 more steps than their baseline average step count. An example of the Self-Monitoring BCT is "Check your fitbit for yesterday. Type in the number of steps you did yesterday."

Action Planning and Self-MonitoringAction Planning and Self-Monitoring, and FeedbackGoal Setting and Action Planning and Self-Monitoring and FeedbackGoal Setting and Action Planning, and Self-MonitoringGoal Setting and Self-MonitoringGoal Setting and Self-Monitoring and FeedbackSelf-MonitoringSelf-Monitoring and Feedback

Individuals will receive daily text messages that include the Feedback behavior change technique (BCT) with the goal of increasing daily walking by 1,000 more steps than their baseline average step count. An example of the Feedback BCT is "Your goal is to walk 1000 steps more than your baseline average. Yesterday you did not meet your goal. If you think this is incorrect you can check your step count from yesterday on your Fitbit app to confirm. "

Action Planning and FeedbackAction Planning and Self-Monitoring, and FeedbackFeedbackGoal Setting and Action Planning and FeedbackGoal Setting and Action Planning and Self-Monitoring and FeedbackGoal Setting and FeedbackGoal Setting and Self-Monitoring and FeedbackSelf-Monitoring and Feedback

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years - 74 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Age 18 - 74 years old of age
  • Self-reported physical inactivity
  • Objectively determined to be sedentary in baseline
  • Possess at least one risk factor for CVD
  • Report they are in good general health and have never been informed by a clinician that it was not advisable/safe to participate in a low-intensity walking program
  • Owns and can regularly access a smartphone capable of receiving text messages
  • Owns and can regularly access an e-mail account

You may not qualify if:

  • \< 18 years old or \> 74 years old
  • Have self-reported poor health, limited mobility and/or have been advised by a clinician not to increase their low-intensity walking
  • Previously diagnosed with a heart attack, stroke, peripheral vascular disease, or received a stent
  • Inability to comply with study protocol during 4 week baseline period
  • Pregnancy
  • Previous diagnosis of a serious mental health condition or psychiatric disorder, such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia
  • Cognitive impairment

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Institute of Health System Science

New York, New York, 10022, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

  • Goodwin AM, Gordon S, Sahni R, Vicari F, Accardi K, Crusco S, Duer-Hefele J, Friel C, Suls J, Cheung YK, Vrany EA, Davidson KW. Influencing basic behavioral mechanisms of action while targeting daily walking in sedentary adults at risk for cardiovascular disease: randomised factorial design protocol. BMJ Open. 2025 Jan 4;15(1):e080307. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-080307.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Cardiovascular DiseasesSedentary BehaviorMotor Activity

Interventions

Organizational Objectives

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Organization and AdministrationHealth Services Administration

Study Officials

  • Karina W Davidson, PhD, MASc

    Northwell Health

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
phase 2
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
Intervention Model
FACTORIAL
Model Details: The study uses a factorial design to randomize participants to all combinations of 4 behavior change techniques (BCTs). There will also be a control group which will receive no BCT intervention.
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

June 8, 2022

First Posted

June 21, 2022

Study Start

September 12, 2022

Primary Completion

January 12, 2026

Study Completion

January 13, 2026

Last Updated

February 27, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

All collected IPD will be de-identified and pooled before sharing on the Open Science Framework, along with a data dictionary. Supporting Information: Study Protocol Statistical Analysis Plan (SAP) Informed Consent Form (ICF)

Shared Documents
STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP
Time Frame
The study protocol, including the statistical analysis plan, will be made available in addition to the informed consent form following completion of recruitment but prior to publication of any data from the current study. De- identified, pooled individual participant data collection. We anticipate this data to be available on the Open Science Framework platform indefinitely.
Access Criteria
All data and supporting information will be stored on the Open Science Framework, a free web application with no access restrictions.
More information

Locations