JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The beneficial effects of physical activity (PA) for older adults are well known. Yet, few older adults reach the health guideline of 150 minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA. eHealth interventions are effective in increasing PA levels in older adults on the short-term but intermediate-term effects after a period without support of a website or application have been examined rarely.

Objective:

To investigate the effect of the eHealth intervention ‘MyPlan 2.0’ on both accelerometer-based and self-reported PA levels in Belgian older adults on the short- and intermediate-term.

Methods:

This study was a randomized controlled trial with three data collection points: baseline (n=72), post (five weeks after baseline; n=65) and follow-up (FU; three months after baseline; n=65). The study took place in Ghent and older adults (65+) were recruited through a combination of random and convenience sampling. At all time points, participants were visited by the research team. Self-reported domain-specific PA was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and accelerometers were used to objectively assess PA. Participants in the intervention group got access to the eHealth intervention ‘MyPlan 2.0’ and used it independently for five consecutive weeks after baseline. ‘MyPlan 2.0’ was based on the self-regulatory theory and focused on both pre- and post-intentional processes to increase PA. Multilevel mixed model repeated measures analyses were performed in R.

Results:

(Borderline) significant positive intervention effects were found for accelerometer-based moderate-to-vigorous PA (baseline – FU: intervention group +5 min/day; control group -5 min/day, p=0.07) and for accelerometer-based total PA (baseline – post: intervention group +20 min/day; control group -24 min/day, p=0.05). ‘MyPlan 2.0’ was also effective in increasing self-reported PA, mainly on the intermediate-term. A positive intermediate-term intervention effect was found for leisure-time vigorous PA (p=0.02), moderate household-related PA (p=0.01) and moderate PA in the garden (p=0.04). Negative intermediate-term intervention effects were found for leisure-time moderate PA (p=0.01) and cycling for transport (p=0.07).

Conclusions:

The findings suggest that theory-based eHealth interventions focusing on pre- and post-intentional determinants have potential for behaviour change in older adults. If future studies including larger samples and long-term follow-up can confirm and clarify the current findings, researchers and practitioners should be encouraged to use a self-regulation perspective for eHealth intervention development. Clinical Trial: Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT03194334 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03783611 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/74q1NdREq)