Physical Activity Intervention for Individuals Newly Diagnosed With MS

Overview

The proposed study is a parallel-group randomized controlled trial (RCT) designed to establish the behavioral mechanism underlying a 16-week physical activity (PA) behavioral intervention through its effects on the Capability-Opportunity-Motivation-Behavior (COM-B) constructs. The success of this study will provide robust evidence for supporting its refinement via refined COM-B constructs and Behavior Change Techniques to facilitate or maximize the intervention effects on PA levels, which will be examined in the subsequent clinical trial. Such an approach will involve an RCT that examines the effects of a 16-week remotely delivered, Internet-based PA behavioral intervention via video behavioral coaching and newsletter compared with a waitlist control (WLC) condition for yielding improvements in the COM-B constructs among persons newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (PNDwMS, disease duration ≤ 2 years). The investigators hypothesize that participants in the PA behavioral intervention condition will demonstrate greater improvements in the COM-B constructs than those in the WLC condition. The investigators plan to recruit 50 PNDwMS, with a distribution of 25 participants in the PA behavioral intervention and 25 participants in the WLC condition. The primary outcomes are the self-report COM-B constructs (listed in the Outcomes section), which will be remotely assessed at baseline and post-intervention through an online battery of questionnaires via REDCap. Specific Aim 1: to establish mechanisms for the behavior change intervention using a 2-arm pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the intervention compared with the waitlist control (WLC) among PNDwMS. The investigators hypothesize that the 16-week COM-B-based behavioral intervention delivered by one-on-one behavior coaching and newsletters will result in larger changes in COM-B constructs (i.e., knowledge, outcome expectations, goal, intention, behavioral regulation, self-efficacy, fatigue, social support, and social and environmental barriers) than in the WLC group. Specific Aim 2: to examine change in self-reported physical activity levels in PNDwMS who received the COM-B-based intervention compared with those who are in the waitlist control condition. The investigators hypothesize that the 16-week COM-B-based behavioral intervention will result in larger changes in self-reported physical activity outcomes than in the WLC group.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a prevalent neurological disease of the central nervous system that is the leading cause of neurological disability among young adults in the United States. This disease results in the progressive loss of walking, substantial worsening of cognition, symptoms of fatigue, as well as compromised quality of life (QoL). There is evidence that physical activity is beneficially associated with walking mobility, cognitive function, symptoms of fatigue, depression, anxiety, and pain in persons with MS. Nonetheless, this population is strikingly sedentary and physically inactive, including persons newly diagnosed with MS (diagnosed with MS for two years or less). Indeed, approximately 40% of persons with MS reported stopping physical activity after an MS diagnosis, and persons recently diagnosed with MS have not been included in physical activity intervention research. Yet, the early stage of MS represents an ideal time point for initiating physical activity for life-long benefits. There is further evidence that physical activity and exercise interventions delivered remotely can yield benefits in managing MS symptoms and comorbidities, and disability progression. In this study, the investigators aim to primarily test the effect of a 16-week remotely delivered behavioral intervention, compared with a control condition (i.e., waitlist control), on the psychological constructs based on the Capability-Opportunity-Motivation-Behavior model in persons newly diagnosed with MS (disease duration ≤ 2 years). Consequently, this could provide more evidence for the understanding of the intervention mechanism on physical activity behavior in people newly diagnosed with MS. Participants will complete a battery of questionnaires remotely over the internet before and immediately after the 16-week program. The first assessments occur upon enrollment in the study (Baseline Assessment) and the second occurs right after the intervention (16- week Assessment). In this study, participants will be randomly assigned into 1 of 2 conditions: a physical activity condition (receive the intervention immediately after baseline assessment) or a waitlist condition (receive the intervention after the 16-week assessment). Participants in both conditions will receive access to an Internet delivered program for 16 weeks as well as one-on-one coaching through Zoom. The participants could opt in/out of receiving the intervention after the follow-up assessment. The investigators will ask that participants in the physical activity condition wear a Fitbit (this is different from the accelerometer) for tracking physical activity daily during the 16- week period. The investigators will further ask that information from the Fitbit be recorded into a logbook daily.