Browsing by Author "Rhodes, Ryan E."

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    GrOup based physical Activity for oLder adults (GOAL) randomized controlled trial: study protocol
    Beauchamp, Mark R.; Harden, Samantha M.; Wolf, Svenja A.; Rhodes, Ryan E.; Liu, Yan; Dunlop, William L.; Schmader, Toni; Sheel, Andrew W.; Zumbo, Bruno D.; Estabrooks, Paul A. (2015-06-27)
    Background Physical activity has health benefits across the lifespan, yet only 13 % of Canadian older adults are sufficiently active. Results from a number of observational studies indicate that adults display positive preferences for exercising with others of a similar age and same gender, and that intra-group age- and gender-similarity are associated with elevated exercise adherence. However, research has yet to experimentally examine the extent to which intra-group age- and gender-related similarity affect exercise adherence behaviors. Methods/design The GrOup-based physical Activity for oLder adults (GOAL) trial is a three-arm randomized control trial that will examine the efficacy of two different group-based exercise programs for older adults (informed by the tenets of self-categorization theory) in relation to a standard group-based exercise program. Within this manuscript we outline the design and proposed evaluation of the GOAL trial. The first arm is comprised of exercise groups made up of participants of a similar-age and of the same gender; the second arm consists of groups with similar-aged mixed gender participants; the control arm is comprised of mixed-aged mixed gender participants. We aim to compare the adherence rates of participants across conditions, as well as potential moderation effects and mediating mechanisms. Discussion Results from this trial will inform intervention designs to improve the exercise adherence behaviors of older adult. At a systems-level, should support be derived for the efficacy of the interventions tested in this trial, changing group composition (i.e., age, gender) represents a feasible program adaptation for physical activity centers. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov # NCT02023632 . Registered December 13, 2013.
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    Online-Delivered Group and Personal Exercise Programs to Support Low Active Older Adults' Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Randomized Controlled Trial
    Beauchamp, Mark R.; Hulteen, Ryan M.; Ruissen, Geralyn R.; Liu, Yan; Rhodes, Ryan E.; Wierts, Colin M.; Waldhauser, Katrina J.; Harden, Samantha M.; Puterman, Eli (2021-07-30)
    Background: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, experts in mental health science emphasized the importance of developing and evaluating approaches to support and maintain the mental health of older adults. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess whether a group-based exercise program relative to a personal exercise program (both delivered online) and waitlist control (WLC) can improve the psychological health of previously low active older adults during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The Seniors COVID-19 Pandemic and Exercise (SCOPE) trial was a 3-arm, parallel randomized controlled trial conducted between May and September 2020 in which low active older adults (aged >= 65 years) were recruited via media outlets and social media. After baseline assessments, consented participants were randomized to one of two 12-week exercise programs (delivered online by older adult instructors) or a WLC condition. A total of 241 older adults (n=187 women) provided baseline measures (via online questionnaires), were randomized (n(group)+80, n(personal)=82, n(control)=79), and completed measures every 2 , weeks for the duration of the trial. The trial's primary outcome was psychological flourishing. Secondary outcomes included global measures of mental and physical health, life satisfaction, and depression symptoms. Results: The results of latent growth modeling revealed no intervention effects for flourishing, life satisfaction, or depression symptoms (P>.05 for all). Participants in the group condition displayed improved mental health relative to WLC participants over the first 10 weeks (effect size [ES]=0.288-0.601), and although the week 12 effect (ES=0.375) was in the same direction the difference was not statistically significant (P=.089). Participants in the personal condition displayed improved mental health, when compared with WLC participants, in the same medium ES range (ES=0.293-0.565) over the first 8 weeks, and while the effects were of a similar magnitude at weeks 10 (ES=0.455, P=.069) and 12 (ES=0.258, P=.353), they were not statistically significant. In addition, participants in the group condition displayed improvements in physical health when compared with the WLC (ES=0.079-0.496) across all 12 weeks of the study following baseline. No differences were observed between the personal exercise condition and WLC for physical health (slope P=.271). Conclusions: There were no intervention effects for the trial's primary outcome (ie, psychological flourishing). It is possible that the high levels of psychological flourishing at baseline may have limited the extent to which those indicators could continue to improve further through intervention (ie, potential ceiling effects). However, the intervention effects for mental and physical health point to the potential capacity of low-cost and scalable at-home programs to support the mental and physical health of previously inactive adults in the COVID-19 pandemic.
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    Theory of Planned Behavior: Item Response Sets and Prediction of Physical Activity
    Nault, Edith Madeline (Virginia Tech, 2013-09-04)
    Background: Less than half of Americans meet the recommendation of leisure-time physical activity (PA) of 150 minutes (CDC, 2012). A number of efficacious programs have been developed, and those that are based on theory are more effective. However, it is often difficult to determine the mechanisms of effect through meditational analyses. This is particularly an issue when a theory-based intervention is effective but theoretically hypothesized meditational relationships are not found. One reason for the lack of relationship could be the methods used to assess different theoretical constructs. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is one model used in the exercise and PA research domain which generally employs traditional fixed-graded measures of proposed theoretical mediators (e.g., strongly disagree to strongly agree response sets). More recent research provides initial evidence that using continuous-open scaling (e.g., ratio-level scaling; days or time/per week rather than agreement scales) has shown the superiority in measurement accuracy demonstrated by stronger relationships between the theoretical constructs and behavioral outcomes when compared to other scaling types. However, continuous open scaling has only been applied to correlational studies and there is no evidence that this scaling procedure results in measures that are sensitive to change or are related to both self-reported and objectively measured PA. Primary Aims: The primary aims of this study were to determine 1) the sensitivity to change of TPB constructs using different response sets and self-report and accelerometer assessed PA, and 2) if TPB constructs measured using the different response-sets have differential prediction of PA measured using self-report and accelerometry. Methods: Forty-six young adults were recruited to complete 13-item measure of TPB constructs using both fixed-graded and continuous-open scales as well as Godin's Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire at 3 time (T1=Baseline, T2=End of week 1, T3=End of week 2) points over 2-weeks. Potential participants were excluded if they engaged in PA of 150 minutes or more per week. Inclusion criteria were the ability to perform moderate intensity PA and aged 18-25 years old. The order of different scales for the TPB constructs was randomly and evenly assigned within each condition. Participants were asked to wear an accelerometer for 2 weeks; one week prior to the action planning activity and one week after. To determine the sensitivity to change of the measures, participants were randomly assigned to either complete a personal action plan for physical activity (AP) or not (Control). Due to the exploratory nature of the pilot we set the significance level for all tests at p<0.10. Results: In general responses to the continuous open versus fixed closed items, at each time point, resulted in significantly (p<.05) lower perceptions of attitude (instrumental attitudes T1=4.4, T2=4.2, T3=4.3 versus time1= 6.2, T2=6.4, T3=6.3; affective attitudes T1=3.6, T2=3.5, T3=3.9 versus time1= 5.0, T2=5.0, T3=4.8), subjective norm ( T1=3.4, T2=3.3, T3=2.4 versus time1= 5.3, T2=5.2, T3=5.3), perceptions of control ( T1=3.2, T2=3.7, T3=3.9 versus time1= 4.6 T2=4.9, T3=5.2), and intention (T1=1.5, T2=1.8, T3=2.4 versus time1= 4.8, T2=5.1, T3=5.2). In regards to sensitivity to change continuous open and fixed closed measures of instrumental attitudes, subjective norms did not demonstrate significant changes as a result of action planning. Affective attitudes measured by the continuous-open scale, but not when measured by the fixed-closed scale, showed change over time regardless of condition. Perceived behavioral control measured using the continuous-open scale increased for AP participants by approximately 0.5 compared to control participants change of approximately 0.1 (p=.09). A similar pattern was found with intention in that changes in the continuous-open scale were significant (AP=0.9; control=0.2; p=0.07). No other scales showed significant sensitivity to change. Self-reported PA increased significantly for AP participants (81-16 minutes per week of PA) when compared to control participants (87 +/- 19 to 75 +/- 17 minutes per week of PA; p<0.1). Same pattern of differences was shown between AP (65 +/- 13 to 107 +/- 15 minutes per week of PA) and control (70 +/- 14 to 65 +/- 16 minutes per week of PA) participants (p<0.05). Conclusions: Continuous open scaling have significant correlations with all constructs along with affective attitude and intention being correlated with the actual reported exercise behavior over fixed graded scaling. This data sheds further insight into the different response sets of the TPB in application to exercise domain within a sedentary, young population. The lack of a significant difference may be due to the small sample size. Further research should investigate the role of the personalized action plan utilizing a larger sample size and the correlation of the TPB with intention and actual exercise behavior within an intervention.