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OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT05031273

Designing Communities to Support Healthy Living in Aging Residents

The Housing for Health team is making evidence-based recommendations to the developer and design team of an upcoming congregate-living development to support the healthy living of older adults who will be moving into the new building. There may also be opportunities to improve the surrounding neighbourhood by collaborating with the municipality where the development is located. We will evaluate whether the intervention leads to changes in the perceived, micro-scale, and macro-scale physical built environment (BE), and whether there are impacts on the physical activity (PA), healthy eating, and social connections of residents. In parallel, we will gather qualitative data to provide a more in-depth understanding of how the BE may facilitate or hinder resident's healthy living behaviours.

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Key information

Conditions

Healthy Aging Behavior Motor Activity

Age range

18 year–110 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Alberta

Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2C8, Canada

About this study

Background: The Housing for Health team is making evidence-based recommendations to the developer and design team of an upcoming congregate-living development to support the healthy living of older adults who will be moving into the new building. There may also be opportunities to improve the surrounding neighbourhood by collaborating with the municipality where the development is located. We will evaluate whether the intervention leads to changes in the perceived, micro-scale, and macro-scale physical built environment (BE), and whether there are impacts on the physical activity (PA), healthy eating, and social connections of residents. In parallel, we will gather qualitative data to provide a more in-depth understanding of how the BE may facilitate or hinder resident's healthy living behaviours.

Methods: This project employs a quasi-experimental pre-post design. The quantitative built environment (BE) evaluation includes assessments of macroscale (e.g., layout of communities) and microscale (e.g., street details and characteristics) changes as measured using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Microscale Audit Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS) audits, respectively. For the quantitative resident evaluation, residents moving into the intervention site or who currently live at a control site will be invited to participate. Study outcomes will be measured using self-report (i.e., surveys) and objective tools (i.e., accelerometers, Global Positioning System). The qualitative resident-environment component will be conducted using in-depth semi-structured interviews with building residents, family members, and stakeholders involved in the design/development and/or operation of the intervention site and others living in the developments' neighbourhoods. Participant observations will be completed in the building and neighbourhood environments of the intervention site.

Discussion: Findings will provide evidence on whether and how comprehensive changes to the BE of a building, site, and/or neighbourhood of a congregate living facility can impact PA, healthy eating, and social connections of older adults. Successful aspects of interventions will be scaled up in future work. We will disseminate findings to a broad audience including the scientific community via peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and discussion panels; and private, public, and non-profit sectors via reports, public presentations and/or communications via our partners and their networks.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Men or women aged 18 years or older that are either moving into the intervention site(s), or living in a control site.

Exclusion criteria

  • Residents who have been told by a health care provider that they have Alzheimer's or dementia.

Treatment and study plan

Residents moving into a congregate-living development with more features that support healthy living

Behavioral

Our team is making evidence-based recommendations to the developer and design team of an upcoming congregate-living development to support the physical activity, healthy eating, and social connections of residents moving into the new building(s). We hope for the developer to integrate into the new building(s) as many as possible of our team's built environment design and amenity recommendations into their site and/or building plans. Additionally, discussions with the municipality are also occuring on built environment design and amenity recommendations to improve the neighbourhood surrounding the site. Although our team has provided these recommendations, it is ulimatily up to the discretion of the developer and the municipality as to whether and what design and amenity changes are made.

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in self-reported physical activity from baseline to 3-6-months post-move-in

    Time frame: baseline and 3-6-months post-move-in

    Self-reported physical activity will be adapted from the Neighborhood - International Physical Activity Questionnaire (N-IPAQ)

  2. Change in self-reported physical activity from baseline to 9-12-months post-move-in

    Time frame: baseline and 9-12-months post-move-in

    Self-reported physical activity will be adapted from the Neighborhood - International Physical Activity Questionnaire (N-IPAQ)

  3. Change in accelerometer-measured physical activity from baseline to 9-12-months post-move-in

    Time frame: baseline and 9-12-months post-move-in

    Accelerometer-measured physical activity will be measured using Actigraph accelerometers.

  4. Change in accelerometer-measured physical activity from baseline to 3-6-months post-move-in

    Time frame: baseline and 3-6-months post-move-in

    Accelerometer-measured physical activity will be measured using Actigraph accelerometers.

  5. Change in location-measured physical activity from baseline to 3-6-months post-move-in

    Time frame: baseline and 3-6-months post-move-in

    Location-measured physical activity will be measured using Qstarz Travel Recorder Geographical Positioning System (GPS) devices.

  6. Change in location-measured physical activity from baseline to 9-12-months post-move-in

    Time frame: baseline and 9-12-months post-move-in

    Location-measured physical activity will be measured using Qstarz Travel Recorder Geographical Positioning System (GPS) devices.

  7. Change in healthy eating from baseline to 3-6-months post-move-in

    Time frame: baseline and 3-6-months post-move-in

    Healthy eating will be adapted from the Nutritional Environment Measures Survey - Perceived Nutrition Environment (NEMS-P)

  8. Change in healthy eating from baseline to 9-12-months post-move-in

    Time frame: baseline and 9-12-months post-move-in

    Healthy eating will be adapted from the Nutritional Environment Measures Survey - Perceived Nutrition Environment (NEMS-P)

  9. Change in unhealthy eating from baseline to 3-6-months post-move-in

    Time frame: baseline and 3-6-months post-move-in

    Unhealthy eating will be adapted from the Nutritional Environment Measures Survey - Perceived Nutrition Environment (NEMS-P)

  10. Change in unhealthy eating from baseline to 9-12-months post-move-in

    Time frame: baseline and 9-12-months post-move-in

    Unhealthy eating will be adapted from the Nutritional Environment Measures Survey - Perceived Nutrition Environment (NEMS-P)

  11. Change in social connections from baseline to 3-6-months post-move-in

    Time frame: baseline and 3-6-months post-move-in

    Social connections will be derived from several self-report items.

  12. Change in social connections from baseline to 9-12-months post-move-in

    Time frame: baseline and 9-12-months post-move-in

    Social connections will be derived from several self-report items.

  13. Change in the micro-scale built environment from baseline to 3-6-months post-move-in

    Time frame: baseline and 3-6-months post-move-in

    The actual micro-scale built environment is measured using the Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS) audit tool

  14. Change in the micro-scale built environment from baseline to 9-12-months post-move-in

    Time frame: baseline and 9-12-months post-move-in

    The actual micro-scale built environment is measured using the Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS) audit tool

  15. Change in the macro-scale built environment from baseline to 3-6-months post-move-in

    Time frame: baseline and 3-6-months post-move-in

    The actual macro-scale built environment is measured using Geographical Information Systems (GIS)

  16. Change in the macro-scale built environment from baseline to 9-12-months post-move-in

    Time frame: baseline and 9-12-months post-move-in

    The actual macro-scale built environment will be measured using Geographical Information Systems (GIS)

  17. Change in the perceived neighbourhood built environment from baseline to 3-6-months post-move-in

    Time frame: baseline and 3-6-months post-move-in

    The perceived neighbourhood built environment will be measured using the Physical Activity Neighborhood Environment Scale (PANES)

  18. Change in the perceived neighbourhood built environment from baseline to 9-12-months

    Time frame: baseline and 9-12-months post-move-in

    The perceived neighbourhood built environment will be measured using the Physical Activity Neighborhood Environment Scale (PANES)

  19. Change in the perceived neighbourhood food environment from baseline to 3-6-months

    Time frame: baseline and 3-6-months post-move-in

    The perceived neighbourhood food environment will be measured using the Nutritional Environment Measures Survey - Perceived Nutrition Environment (NEMS-P)

  20. Change in the perceived neighbourhood food environment from baseline to 9-12-months

    Time frame: baseline and 9-12-months post-move-in

    The perceived neighbourhood food environment will be measured using the Nutritional Environment Measures Survey - Perceived Nutrition Environment (NEMS-P)

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Alberta

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2023
Study completion
2023
First posted
Sep 1, 2021
Registry last updated
Nov 29, 2023

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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