Caminemos: Caminamos: A Smartphone App for Latinas to Connect With Walking Partners

Sponsor

Klein Buendel, Inc. (Industry)

Overall Status

Active, not recruiting

CT.gov ID

NCT03854916

Collaborator

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) (NIH), Stanford University (Other)

100

Enrollment

Locations

Arms

Anticipated Duration (Months)

Patients Per Site

1.3

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

Despite numerous interventions designed to increase physical activity, few are specifically tailored to Latinas, a population where higher rates of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases are present. This proposed smartphone app, ¡Caminemos Juntas!, will use location-based services to connect Latinas with one another in order to improve walking habits by increasing social support and decreasing perceived barriers, both of which are known to play a role in physical activity behaviors. Through a randomized comparative-effectiveness trial, this Phase II project will test the effectiveness of a smartphone application for improving physical activity among Latinas when providing them with real-time opportunities to connect socially with the goal of walking.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Physical Activity	Other: Caminemos Juntas App Other: World Walking App	N/A

Detailed Description

Health disparities are high among Latinas. They are more likely to be overweight, diagnosed with diabetes, and physically inactive compared to their non-Hispanic White counterparts. Thus, interventions that target improving health access and ameliorating chronic diseases among Latinas are of high public health importance. Available data suggest that community-focused interventions produce improvements in physical activity (PA) and are well-received by Latinas especially when social and physical environments are considered (e.g., social support, safe walking areas, etc.). Research suggests that Latinos respond favorably to technological-based health interventions. Thus, health promotion interventions that can address Latinos' preferences regarding their physical and social environments while utilizing a preferred technology source (e.g., smartphone) could prove highly successful. In a Phase I SBIR, our team developed ¡Caminemos Juntas!, an innovative mobile phone app using Location-based Services (LBS) to connect women within geographically proximal neighborhoods as a way to provide social support for increased walking behaviors. Specifically, we (a) gathered feedback from an Expert Advisory Board (EAB) to help plan and assess the feasibility of creating the app; (b) built connections and gathered input from Latina community leaders to assist in the conceptual development of the app through a Community Advisory Board (CAB); (c) conducted an online survey of a national sample of Latinas on their smartphone usage for health promotion, and interest in social networking and LBS technology features; (d) conducted iterative focus groups with Latinas to guide development of app content, design, and aesthetics to fully develop a functioning prototype; (e) conducted field usability testing with Latinas to test the app's accuracy to establish users' location and connect users through the ¡Caminemos Juntas! system and users' use and satisfaction with the app; and (f) developed a specifications document to outline the Phase II development plan. The results of the Phase I activities provided strong support for this Phase II SBIR application. The proposed Phase II project will (1) develop a full-scale, fully programmed ¡Caminemos Juntas! app; (2) determine whether the ¡Caminemos Juntas! app can be translated and adapted to a new community environment; (3) test the performance, usage, and usability of the full-scale, fully-programmed app; and (4) evaluate whether ¡Caminemos Juntas! increases physical activity, social support for exercise, and quality of life (QOL) in Latinas. ¡Caminemos Juntas! will be evaluated in a randomized comparative-effectiveness trial (n=200) with Latinas age 18-55 in the Denver, CO and San Jose, CA areas. Overall, the proposed project has the potential to significantly impact Latinas' health by providing them with real-time opportunities to connect socially with the goal of walking. ¡Caminemos Juntas! will be the first app that use geo-location technology dedicated to walking with a social emphasis, for any population.

Study Design

Study Type:

Interventional

Anticipated Enrollment :

100 participants

Allocation:

Randomized

Intervention Model:

Parallel Assignment

Masking:

Single (Participant)

Primary Purpose:

Prevention

Official Title:

Caminamos: A Location-based Smartphone App for Latinas to Connect With Nearby Walking Partners Ph II

Actual Study Start Date :

Feb 28, 2019

Anticipated Primary Completion Date :

Apr 30, 2022

Anticipated Study Completion Date :

Apr 30, 2022

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: Caminemos Juntas App Participants use the Caminemos app.	Other: Caminemos Juntas App A tailored mobile app that encourages Latinas and Hispanic women to walk together using location-based services.
Active Comparator: World Walking App Participants use the World of Walking App.	Other: World Walking App A mobile app that encourages users to walk.

Arm

Intervention/Treatment

Experimental: Caminemos Juntas App

Participants use the Caminemos app.

Other: Caminemos Juntas App

A tailored mobile app that encourages Latinas and Hispanic women to walk together using location-based services.

Active Comparator: World Walking App

Participants use the World of Walking App.

Other: World Walking App

A mobile app that encourages users to walk.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

Change in Physical Activity at 6 weeks [0 weeks and 6 weeks]
The Community Healthy Activities Model Program for Seniors (CHAMPS) is a 41-item physical questionnaire that measures self-reported minutes-per-week of physical activity calculated as total weekly caloric expenditure in all physical activity. Each question has 6 answer options that range from "Less than 1 hour" to "9 or more hours". This measure will be administered at 0 weeks and 6 weeks to measure changes in physical activity.
Change in Physical Activity at 12 weeks [6 weeks and 12 weeks]
The Community Healthy Activities Model Program for Seniors (CHAMPS) is a 41-item physical questionnaire that measures self-reported minutes-per-week of physical activity calculated as total weekly caloric expenditure in all physical activity. Each question has 6 answer options that range from "Less than 1 hour" to "9 or more hours". This measure will be administered at 12 weeks to measure changes in physical activity.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Change in perception of neighborhood design features related to PA at 6 weeks [0 weeks and 6 weeks]
The 54-item Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale-Abbreviated (NEWS) assesses residents' perception of neighborhood design features related to PA, including residential density, land use mix, street connectivity, infrastructure for walking/cycling, neighborhood aesthetics, traffic and crime safety,and neighborhood satisfaction. The measure is divided into 6 question families that contain a different scale likert-type scale.
Change in perception of neighborhood design features related to PA at 12 weeks [12 weeks]
The 54-item Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale-Abbreviated (NEWS) assesses residents' perception of neighborhood design features related to PA, including residential density, land use mix, street connectivity, infrastructure for walking/cycling, neighborhood aesthetics, traffic and crime safety,and neighborhood satisfaction. The measure is divided into 6 question families that contain a different scale likert-type scale.
Changes in perceived receipt of social support for exercise at 6 weeks [0 weeks and 6 weeks]
The Social Support for Exercise Survey is a 13-item self-report measure that assesses perceived receipt of social support for exercise, i.e., how often their friends or family members (separately rated) encouraged their exercise behaviors during the previous 3 month. Each question uses a likert-type scale ranging from "0/none" to "8/does not apply".
Changes in perceived receipt of social support for exercise at 12 weeks [12 weeks]
The Social Support for Exercise Survey is a 13-item self-report measure that assesses perceived receipt of social support for exercise, i.e., how often their friends or family members (separately rated) encouraged their exercise behaviors during the previous 3 month. Each question uses a likert-type scale ranging from "0/none" to "8/does not apply".
Changes in functional health and well-being at 6 weeks [0 weeks and 6 weeks]
The 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) is a 12-item questionnaire that measures functional health and well-being (i.e., health-related quality of life; HRQOL). Answer scales include likert-type scales and dichotomous answer choices.
Changes in functional health and well-being at 12 weeks [12 weeks]
The 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) is a 12-item questionnaire that measures functional health and well-being (i.e., health-related quality of life; HRQOL). Answer scales include likert-type scales and dichotomous answer choices.
Changes in neighborhood physical and social environment at 6 weeks [0 weeks and 6 weeks]
The Environmental Supports for Physical Activity Questionnaire - Social and Physical Environment Survey is a 27-item questionnaire that assesses neighborhood physical and social environments, i.e., neighborhood safety, access to recreation and shopping destinations, and conditions of neighborhood and facilities. Answer options use likert-type scale and dichotomous choices.
Changes in neighborhood physical and social environment at 12 weeks [12 weeks]
The Environmental Supports for Physical Activity Questionnaire - Social and Physical Environment Survey is a 27-item questionnaire that assesses neighborhood physical and social environments, i.e., neighborhood safety, access to recreation and shopping destinations, and conditions of neighborhood and facilities. Answer options use likert-type scale and dichotomous choices.
System Usability Scale (SUS) [12 weeks]
Ten likert-type questions assessing user-friendliness of technology. Each question has five answer options that range from "Strongly Agree" to "Strongly Disagree". Scores range from 0-100. A score of 68 or above is considered above average. All scores averaged.

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

18 Years to 55 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study:

Female

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Yes

Inclusion Criteria:

between the ages of 18 and 55 years, identify as Hispanic or Latina, identify as a woman, able to read and speak either English or Spanish, own a smartphone, not pregnant, consent to participate

Exclusion Criteria:

Not between the ages of 18 and55 years, not identify as Hispanic or latina, not identify as a woman, unable to read or speak Spanish or English, pregnant, not own a smartphone.