Lifestyle Physical Activity Intervention for Persons Newly Diagnosed With Multiple Sclerosis

Summary

The overall objective of the current study is to determine the efficacy of a 16-week remotely delivered lifestyle behavioral intervention compared with a control condition (i.e., waitlist control) in persons newly diagnosed with MS (disease duration ≤ 2 years).

Specific Aim 1: To evaluate the changes in self-report and device-measured physical activity after the 16-week remotely delivered physical activity behavior change intervention compared with a control condition (i.e., waitlist control) in persons who have diagnosed with MS within the past two years. The investigators hypothesize that the 16-week behavior change intervention will yield greater improvements in physical activity levels than the control condition immediately after the intervention.

Specific Aim 2: To investigate the efficacy of the 16-week, remotely delivered physical activity behavior change intervention compared with the control condition for improvements in fatigue, depression, anxiety, and QoL in persons newly diagnosed with MS. The investigators hypothesize that there will be beneficial effects on the symptoms and QoL outcomes immediately after the physical activity intervention compared with minimal changes in the control condition.

Conditions

• Multiple Sclerosis

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Physical activity condition

Participants will receive a remote-delivered physical activity program for 16 weeks that includes access to electronic newsletters and regular chats over Zoom with a behavioral coach: * The newsletters provide behavioral strategies such as information on the benefits of physical activity, goal setting and monitoring, for increasing and maintaining physical activity levels. * Throughout the 16-week period, the investigators will ask participants to wear a Fitbit and record step count into a logbook daily for tracking physical activity. * The newsletter will be emailed to participants weekly throughout the program. The newsletters include knowledge, skills, and resources related to physical activity in the early stages of MS. * The program also involves 7 1-on-1 coaching chats with a coach to guide participants through the program and navigate challenges. These chats are conducted over Zoom and generally last about 15 - 30 minutes each. These sessions will not be recorded.

BEHAVIORAL

Waitlist condition

Participants will receive access to a remote-delivered physical activity program for 16 weeks that includes access to electronic newsletters and regular chats over Zoom with a behavioral coach: * The newsletters provide information on the benefits of physical activity, goal setting and monitoring, and other behavioral strategies for increasing and maintaining physical activity levels. * The newsletter will be emailed to participants weekly throughout the program. * Content on the newsletter includes knowledge and skills related to physical activity in the early stages of MS, text of individuals with MS discussing their experiences, web links, worksheets, and brochures. * The program also involves 7 one-on-one video coaching chats with a behavioral coach to guide participants through the program and navigate challenges. These chats are conducted face- to-face over Zoom and generally last about 15 - 30 minutes each. The investigators do not record these sessions.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Illinois at Chicago

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-04-29

Primary Completion

2026-08-01

Completion

2026-12-01

Countries

• United States

Study Locations