A Randomized Two-Arm Proof of Concept Study Testing A Novel Approach to Exercise Promotion Based on Affect-regulation

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the effect of an affect-based exercise prescription on moderate-vigorous physical activity participation among survivors of breast cancer who completed primary treatment within the last 5 years. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. Do at least 50% of participants assigned to the affect-based exercise prescription engage in ≥90 minutes of moderate-vigorous physical activity by the end of 12-weeks follow-up?
2. What level of satisfaction do breast cancer survivors who receive the affect-based exercise prescription report relative to breast cancer survivors who receive an effort-based exercise prescription.
3. What proportion of participants assigned to the affect-based exercise prescription stay enrolled in the study relative to the number of participants who stay enrolled in the effort-based exercise prescription.

All participants will:

* Be assigned to either the Affect-based exercise prescription or the Effort-based exercise prescription.
* Participate in two meetings with a member of the study team meant to help them get started increasing weekly exercise. These meetings are the same for all participants.
* Be asked to wear an activity monitor and respond to brief surveys for 10 straight days at 4 points in time: Baseline, 2weeks, 6weeks, and 12weeks.

Conditions

• Breast Cancer

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Core Exercise Promotion Program

Core intervention content will be delivered during the Visit 1 and 1-Month-Check-in meetings. Definitions of exercise will be provided, participants will be asked to discuss their past experiences with exercise, guidelines for being safe during exercise will be reviewed, and strategies for overcoming potential barriers to exercise will be discussed. All participants will be given an exercise plan organized according to the FIIT Principle (Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type). The intensity component of the exercise plan will differ by study arm, all other elements will be delivered the same across both conditions. All participants will be given the goal of increasing weekly time spent exercising to ≥150 minutes, consistent with recommended guidelines. All participants will be given a smartwatch to support self-monitoring of exercise and activity levels throughout the 12-week study period.

BEHAVIORAL

Affect-based exercise prescription

Participants assigned to Affect-Rx will receive instructions to "select a pace of exercise that makes you feel as good as possible." The exercise intensity prescription section of their exercise plan will include the Feeling Scale as an attachment and participants will be given the instruction to "stay in the green zone" on the Feeling Scale.

BEHAVIORAL

Effort-based exercise prescription

Participants assigned to RPE-Rx will receive instructions to "select a pace that would make it challenging for you to carry on more than a short conversation." The exercise intensity prescription section of their exercise plan will include the Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale as an attachment and participants will be given the instruction to "stay in the green zone" on the RPE Scale.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Cancer Institute (NCI)

  collaborator NIH

• Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Courtney J Stevens, PhD · Dartmouth-Hitcock Health

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-04-16

Primary Completion

2026-06-01

Completion

2026-07-01

Countries

• United States

Study Locations