The Healthy Older People Engaging in Exercise and Diet (HOPE ED) project
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN44671491 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN44671491 |
| Secondary identifying numbers | 1R15AG072369-01A1 |
- Submission date
- 12/02/2025
- Registration date
- 13/02/2025
- Last edited
- 20/02/2025
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
Researchers at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) want to know if a healthy aging program focusing on hope and resilience can help older adults improve their motivation for diet and physical activity changes.
Who can participate?
Healthy older adults aged 55 years old and over who live in one of four housing communities in Anchorage and can understand English
What does the study involve?
Participants will attend a weekly class session for 15 weeks in their housing community. These classes will be taught by trained and experienced UAA students. The goal is to help people feel positive and hopeful about their lives and the aging process. The classes will have 30 minutes of information about healthy aging and then 30 minutes of light physical activity instruction.
Participants who agree to be in this study will be asked to do several things:
1. Take a survey on your diet, health, and exercise before and after the program
2. Have your height and weight measured before and after the program
3. Take a short fitness assessment that includes walking, standing, and reaching before and after the program
4. Attend weekly class sessions for 15 weeks
5. Take an at-home survey and mail it back to us 3 months after the program ends
6. Take another survey at home 6 months after the program ended
Participants will receive information right away about their current height and weight. They will also be given the results of the fitness assessment before and after the program begins.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Participants will get to attend free health classes taught by trained and experienced UAA students. This is in a fun and social learning environment. They will also receive information about healthy aging and help UAA understand what works for older adults.
This study has few risks. Some people may become exerted during the exercise part of the class. Participants will be encouraged to ask their doctor if they should begin the program. They will also be asked to go at their own pace during class and not overdo it. The team will try to anticipate any potential risks the study has, however, there may be some risks that are currently unknown.
Risks of a study to a community are not always known. This program focuses on hope and resilience so there are few risks to the community. The people involved in this study have worked closely to lessen the risk of harm to your community. All presentations or publications must be approved by the Southcentral Foundation leadership.
The research team will not access any medical records for this study.
Where is the study run from?
The UAA, USA
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
July 2021 to May 2023
Who is funding the study?
The National Institute of Aging (NIA), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Who is the main contact?
Britteny M. Howell (Principal Investigator), bmhowell2@alaska.edu
Contact information
Public, Scientific, Principal Investigator
University of Alaska Anchorage
3211 Providence Dr.
PSB 206B
Anchorage
99508
United States of America
 ORCID ID |
0000-0002-9724-5367 |
|---|---|
| Phone | +1-907-786-6565 |
| bmhowell2@alaska.edu |
Study information
| Study design | Cross-sectional non-randomized multi-center study |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Non randomised study |
| Study setting(s) | Community |
| Study type | Efficacy |
| Participant information sheet | Not available in web format, please use contact details to request a participant information sheet |
| Scientific title | A health education program to increase hope and improve energy balance among seniors in the urban subarctic |
| Study acronym | HOPE ED |
| Study objectives | Did self-efficacy, fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, functional fitness, self-rated health, or BMI improve significantly as a result of the program? |
| Ethics approval(s) |
Approved 07/10/2021, Alaska Area Institutional Review Board (4315 Diplomacy Drive, Anchorage, Alaska, 99508, United States of America; 1-907-729-3924; akaalaskaareaIRB@anthc.org), ref: 2021-08-038 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Efficacy of a health education program |
| Intervention | This cross-sectional, non-randomized, multi-center study accepted all eligible and interested volunteers into the health education program (no allocation, masking, blinding, control group, or participant assignments) from 4 different senior housing communities. The intervention is a 15-week student-led health education program for older adults to increase fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity utilizing the following measures: BMI, self-efficacy, fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, functional fitness assessment, and self-reported health. There was no placebo, control group, or participant randomization. Dose and duration: weekly, 1-hour sessions administered by students in the 4 senior housing community's multi-purpose rooms. |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure | Behavior change is measured by physical activity (the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly - PASE), fruit and vegetable intake (Block fruit/vegetable/fiber screener), self-rated health (1 question on the survey), and self-efficacy (measured by the Self Rated Abilities for Health Practices Scale - SRHAP) self-assessments at baseline, post-program (week 15), 3-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up. |
| Secondary outcome measures | The following secondary outcome measures are assessed at baseline and post-program (week 15): 1. BMI measured by the research team taking height and weight measurements 2. Functional fitness measured by the Senior Fitness Test, administered by the research team |
| Overall study start date | 16/07/2021 |
| Completion date | 05/05/2023 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Healthy volunteer, Resident |
|---|---|
| Age group | Mixed |
| Lower age limit | 55 Years |
| Upper age limit | 112 Years |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 60 |
| Total final enrolment | 58 |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. Living in one of the 4 study site housing communities 2. Aged 55 years or over 3. Able and willing to participate in a 15-week health education program that contains light physical activity 4. Able to read and write in English 5. No one will be excluded based on ethnicity or gender |
| Key exclusion criteria | 1. Anyone under the age of 55 years old 2. Does not live in the study site housing community 3. Older adults who do not have capacity to read and write in English 4. Those unable to consent 5. Must not have a legal guardian |
| Date of first enrolment | 17/01/2023 |
| Date of final enrolment | 15/02/2023 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- United States of America
Study participating centres
Anchorage
99504
United States of America
Anchorage
99515
United States of America
Anchorage
99504
United States of America
Eagle River
99577
United States of America
Sponsor information
University/education
3211 Providence Dr
Anchorage
99508
United States of America
| Phone | +1-907-786-65656 |
|---|---|
| uaa_postaward@alaska.edu | |
| Website | https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/ |
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/03k3c2t50 |
Funders
Funder type
Government
Government organisation / National government
- Alternative name(s)
- U.S. National Institute on Aging, The National Institute on Aging, NIH NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING, NIA
- Location
- United States of America
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 01/01/2026 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Available on request |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Planned publication in a peer-reviewed journal |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study may be available upon request from Britteny M. Howell (Principal Investigator), bmhowell2@alaska.edu if permission is granted from the tribal authority, the Southcentral Foundation Board of Directors. The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not expected to be made publicly available because the dataset contains information on Indigenous Elders and the study protocols were reviewed by a tribal IRB. Names will not appear in any report or papers resulting from this study. All results that are made public will be summary results, they will not report anything that would identify a person. Summary results will be shared with participants and Tribal leadership. Participant de-identified data might be shared without future consent and may be used in future studies, unless participant's disagree. Papers will be written for publication in scientific articles. These papers will be reviewed and approved by tribal authorities before being published. |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other publications | Student experiences | 04/06/2024 | 20/02/2025 | Yes | No |
| Results article | 29/05/2024 | 20/02/2025 | Yes | No |
Editorial Notes
20/02/2025: Publication references added.
13/02/2025: Study's existence confirmed by the Alaska Area Institutional Review Board.
