An overview of the Together Everyone Achieves More Physical Activity (TEAM-PA) trial to increase physical activity among African American women

Abstract

BackgroundThe Together Everyone Achieves More Physical Activity (TEAM-PA) trial is a randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of a group-based intervention for increasing physical activity (PA) among insufficiently active African American women. DesignThe TEAM-PA trial uses a group cohort design, is implemented at community sites, and will involve 360 African American women. The trial compares a 10-week group-based intervention vs. a standard group-delivered PA comparison program. Measures include minutes of total PA/day using 7-day accelerometer estimates (primary outcome), and body mass index, blood pressure, waist circumference, walking speed, sedentary behavior, light physical activity, and the percentage achieving ≥150 min of moderate to vigorous PA/week (secondary outcomes) at baseline, post-intervention, and 6-months post-intervention. InterventionThe intervention integrates elements from Social Cognitive Theory, Self-Determination Theory, Group Dynamics Theory, and a focus on collectivism to evaluate different components of social affiliation (relatedness, reciprocal support, group cohesion, and collective efficacy). The intervention integrates shared goal-setting via Fitbits, group-based problem-solving, peer-to-peer positive communication, friendly competition, and cultural topics related to collectivism. Compared to the standard group-delivered PA program, participants in the intervention are expected to show greater improvements from baseline to post- and 6-month follow-up on minutes of total PA/day and secondary outcomes. Social affiliation variables (vs. individual-level factors) will be evaluated as mediators of the treatment effect. ImplicationsThe results of the TEAM-PA trial will determine the efficacy of the intervention and identify which aspects of social affiliation are most strongly related to increased PA among African American women. Trial registrationThis study was registered on Clinicaltrials.gov (# NCT05519696) in August 2022 prior to initial participant enrollment.