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CompletedNCT00131092Updated Dec 11, 2009

The CHAT (Community Health Advice by Telephone) Study

A Phase 2 interventional study of The Stanford Active Choices program and The TLC system in Health Behavior and Healthy, sponsored by National Institute on Aging (NIA). Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 55 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2009-12-11.

Sponsored by National Institute on Aging (NIA) · Phase 2 and Interventional

Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
225
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
55 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of the study is to compare a telephone-administered physical activity counseling program delivered by a person or by a telephone-linked computer system and test their relative benefits in improving regular physical activity among adults ages 55 and older.

Read the detailed description

Two hundred and twenty five healthy, sedentary men and women ages 55 and older will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 12 months of physical activity counseling delivered by a human counselor, 12 months of physical activity counseling delivered by a telephone-linked computer system, or a 12-month attention-control condition (a health education class). Data on physical activity participation and related quality of life indicators (e.g., improved physical functioning, fitness, sleep) will be collected at baseline, 6 months, 12 month post-test and 18 month follow-up. The primary hypotheses are:

  • participants in either physical activity counseling condition will show greater improvements in physical activity participation at 12 months compared to the attention-control condition;
  • participants in the human counselor condition will show greater improvements in physical activity at 12 months relative to the computer condition; and
  • participants in the computer condition will show better maintenance of physical activity between 12 and 18 months compared to participants in the human counselor condition.
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Conditions studied

  • Health Behavior
  • Healthy

Keywords

  • exercise
  • aging
  • physical activity
03

In context

Lead sponsor

National Institute on Aging (NIA) is the lead sponsor of 157 studies on the registry; 13 are open to participants now.

Of its 7 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 2 (29%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
55 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • Men and women ages 55 and older
  • Free of any medical condition that would limit participation in independent exercise
  • Not currently engaged in a regular pattern of physical conditioning
  • Free of clinical psychopathology
  • Stable on current medications
  • Planning to remain in the geographic area through the duration of the trial
  • Able to read and speak English sufficiently to understand protocol materials
  • Can use the telephone unaided
  • Willing to accept random assignment to any study condition

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Under the age of 55
  • Currently under treatment for an acute, serious medical condition (e.g., cancer, heart disease, stroke)
  • Physically active on a regular basis (i.e. performing more than 60 minutes per week of aerobic physical activity of at least a moderate intensity)
  • Unstable and/or uncontrolled on medications for high blood pressure or depression
  • Unable or unwilling to use a telephone unaided
  • Unwilling to accept random assignment to study condition
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single
Enrollment
225 participants

Interventions

  • BehavioralThe Stanford Active Choices program
  • BehavioralThe TLC system
06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Increase in physical activity measured by the Stanford 7-Day Physical Activity Recall and the Community Healthy Activities Model Program for Seniors (CHAMPS) physical activity questionnaire for older adults

Secondary outcomes

  1. Physical performance on a symptom-limited, graded exercise treadmill test

  2. quality of life and psychological questionnaires measuring physical functioning, sleep, perceived stress, depressive symptoms

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Stanford Prevention Research Center
    Stanford, California 94305-5705, United States
08

References and documents

Publications

  • King AC, Friedman R, Marcus B, Castro C, Forsyth L, Napolitano M, Pinto B. Harnessing motivational forces in the promotion of physical activity: the Community Health Advice by Telephone (CHAT) project. Health Educ Res. 2002 Oct;17(5):627-36. doi: 10.1093/her/17.5.627. PubMed 12408207 ↗
  • Castro CM, King AC. Telephone-assisted counseling for physical activity. Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 2002 Apr;30(2):64-8. doi: 10.1097/00003677-200204000-00004. PubMed 11991539 ↗
  • Pinto BM, Friedman R, Marcus BH, Kelley H, Tennstedt S, Gillman MW. Effects of a computer-based, telephone-counseling system on physical activity. Am J Prev Med. 2002 Aug;23(2):113-20. doi: 10.1016/s0749-3797(02)00441-5. PubMed 12121799 ↗
  • Glanz K, Shigaki D, Farzanfar R, Pinto B, Kaplan B, Friedman RH. Participant reactions to a computerized telephone system for nutrition and exercise counseling. Patient Educ Couns. 2003 Feb;49(2):157-63. doi: 10.1016/s0738-3991(02)00076-9. PubMed 12566210 ↗
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Dec 11, 2009, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00131092
Lead sponsor
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
First posted
Aug 17, 2005
Start date
Jun 1999
Primary completion
Dec 2003
Completion
Dec 2003
Last update
Dec 11, 2009

Study contacts

Abby C. King, PhD
principal investigator · Stanford Prevention Research Center
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Dec 2008. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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