Effects of Activity Tracker Use With Health Professional Support or Telephone Counseling on Maintenance of Physical Activity and Health Outcomes in Older Adults: Randomized Controlled Trial

Katie-Jane Brickwood; Kiran D. K. Ahuja; Greig Watson; Jane A. O'Brien; Andrew D. Williams

doi:10.2196/18686

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Effects of Activity Tracker Use With Health Professional Support or Telephone Counseling on Maintenance of Physical Activity and Health Outcomes in Older Adults: Randomized Controlled Trial

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Effects of Activity Tracker Use With Health Professional Support or Telephone Counseling on Maintenance of Physical Activity and Health Outcomes in Older Adults: Randomized Controlled Trial

Katie-Jane Brickwood, Kiran D. K. Ahuja, Greig Watson, Jane A. O'Brien and Andrew D. Williams

JMIR mHealth and uHealth, Vol.9(1), pp.1-15

2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/18686

PMCID: PMC7815450

PMID: 33399541

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Abstract

physical activity

fitness trackers

telemedicine

feedback

older adults

eHealth

mobile phone

Background: Despite a range of efforts to increase physical activity participation in Australia, inactivity levels in older adults have remained high over recent decades, contributing to increased rates of chronic health conditions. Lifestyle interventions, including telephone counseling (TC), improve physical activity participation and associated health outcomes over the short term; however, ongoing feedback and support is required to maintain these changes. Newer technologies such as wearable activity trackers (ATs) may offer an alternative method for providing ongoing support. Objective: This study aims to investigate whether newer technologies such as wearable ATs assist in providing ongoing support to maintain physical activity levels and health outcomes. Methods: Older adults aged >60 years who had just completed a 12-week face-to-face individualized community exercise program in Tasmania, Australia, participated in the study. They were randomized to receive AT, TC, or usual care (UC). All groups received a home exercise program and an optional referral to a community-based exercise program. The AT group also received an AT and text message feedback from an accredited exercise physiologist (AEP). The TC group received phone calls from an AEP throughout the 12-month intervention. The primary outcome was daily steps measured by an ActivPAL (TM) accelerometer at baseline and at 3, 6, and 12 months. Secondary outcome measures included body composition, blood pressure, 10-time sit-to-stand (TTSTS) test, timed up and go test, and cardiorespiratory fitness. This trial was approved by the Tasmanian Health and Medical Human Research Ethics Committee (H0014713). Results: A total of 117 participants were randomized to the study (AT, n=37; TC, n=38; UC, n=42). At baseline, the participants (75/117, 64.1% female; mean age 72.4 years, SD 6.4) completed an average of 6136 steps (SD 2985) per day. Although there were no significant differences between groups, the TC and AT groups maintained daily step counts (mean difference [MD] −79 steps, 95% CI −823 to 663 steps; P=.81; and MD −588 steps, 95% CI −1359 to 182 steps; P=.09), and UC showed a reduction in daily steps (MD 981 steps, 95% CI −1668 to −294 steps; P=.003) during the 12-month period. Diastolic blood pressure was significantly higher after AT than after UC (MD 5.62 mm Hg, 95% CI 1.30 to 9.94 mm Hg; P=.01), and TTSTS was significantly slower on TC compared with UC (MD 2.36 seconds, 95% CI −0.14 to 4.87 seconds; P=.03). Conclusions: The use of an AT with AEP support or TC is effective at maintaining daily step count in older adults over a 12-month period, suggesting that wearable ATs are as effective as TC. Further research to investigate which option is more cost-effective would be beneficial. Trial Registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry ACTRN12615001104549; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=369118

Details

Title: Effects of Activity Tracker Use With Health Professional Support or Telephone Counseling on Maintenance of Physical Activity and Health Outcomes in Older Adults: Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Katie-Jane Brickwood (Corresponding Author) - University of Tasmania
Kiran D. K. Ahuja - University of Tasmania
Greig Watson - University of Tasmania
Jane A. O'Brien - University of Tasmania
Andrew D. Williams - University of Tasmania
Publication details: JMIR mHealth and uHealth, Vol.9(1), pp.1-15
Publisher: JMIR Publications, Inc.
Date published: 2021
DOI: 10.2196/18686
ISSN: 2291-5222
PMID: 33399541; PMC7815450
Copyright note: ©Katie-Jane Brickwood, Kiran D K Ahuja, Greig Watson, Jane A O'Brien, Andrew D Williams. Originally published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 05.01.2021. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on http://mhealth.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.
Grant note: Medical Research Future Fund Translating Research into Practice Fellowship; Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) / University of Tasmania
Organisation Unit: School of Health - Nursing
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991212663202621
Output Type: Journal article

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