Design and methods of a translational, community-based, lifestyle weight management pilot intervention trial in breast cancer survivors with overweight or obesity.

Background: Breast cancer survivors (BCS) with overweight or obesity are at heightened risk of cancer recurrence, cardiometabolic disease, and compromised quality of life. Given the prevalence of significant weight gain during and following breast cancer treatment, there is growing recognition of the need to develop efficacious, widely-accessible, weight management programs for BCS. Unfortunately, access to evidence-based weight management resources for BCS remains limited and little is known of the optimal theoretical basis, program components, and mode of delivery for community-based interventions. The primary aim of the Healthy New Albany Breast Cancer (HNABC) pilot trial was to determine the safety, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of delivering a translational, evidence-based, and theory-driven lifestyle weight management intervention to BCS with overweight or obesity in the community setting. Methods: HNABC was a single-arm, pilot trial evaluating a 24-week, multi-component intervention leveraging exercise, dietary modification, and group-mediated cognitive behavioral (GMCB) counseling components designed to facilitate lifestyle behavior change and promote sustained independent adherence. Assessments of various objectively-determined and patient-reported outcomes and theory-derived determinants of behavioral adoption and maintenance were obtained at baseline, 3- and 6-month follow-up. Measures of trial feasibility were calculated prospectively throughout the study. Conclusion: Findings from the HNABC pilot trial will provide evidence demonstrating the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a multi-component, community-based, GMCB lifestyle weight management intervention for BCS. Results will inform the design of a future, large-scale, randomized controlled efficacy trial. If successful, this approach could offer a widely accessible, community-based intervention model for weight management programs in BCS.

The Collaborative Lifestyle Intervention Program in Knee Osteoarthritis Patients (CLIP-OA) trial: Design and methods.

Being overweight or obese is a primary modifiable risk factor that exacerbates disease progression and mobility disability in older knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients. Lifestyle interventions combining exercise with dietary weight loss (EX+DWL) yield meaningful improvements in mobility and weight loss that are superior to EX or DWL alone. Unfortunately, community access to practical, sustainable weight management interventions remains limited and places knee OA patients at increased risk of mobility disability. The Collaborative Lifestyle Intervention Program in Knee Osteoarthritis patients (CLIP-OA), was a two-arm, 18 month randomized-controlled, comparative effectiveness trial designed to contrast the effects of an evidence-based, theory-driven EX+DWL intervention, personalized to patient needs and delivered by our community partners, with those of the Arthritis Foundation's Walk With Ease (WWE) standard of care self-management program in the treatment of knee OA patients with overweight or obesity. The primary outcome of the CLIP-OA trial was mobility performance assessed using the 400-m walk test (400MWT). Secondary outcomes included weight loss, pain, select quality of life and social cognitive variables, and cost-effectiveness of intervention delivery. Findings from the CLIP-OA trial will determine the comparative and cost-effectiveness of the EX+DWL and WWE interventions on key clinical outcomes and has the potential to offer a sustainable medium for intervention delivery that can promote widely accessible weight management among knee OA patients with overweight or obesity. Trial Registration: NCT02835326.

Students report more positive attitudes toward older adults following an interprofessional service-learning course.

The aim of this study was to assess undergraduate students' perceptions of older adults over the semester in an interprofessional service-learning course that implemented a health promotion program called Bingocize® at community facilities for older adults. Students were surveyed at the beginning of the semester, at midterm, and at the conclusion of the course. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected to assess the students' perceptions and experiences. Results suggest that a course on aging that includes interprofessional service-learning in geriatric settings is associated with a significant increase in positive perceptions of the older adult population. Further research, however, is warranted to validate the findings.

Students' Perceptions of an Applied Research Experience in an Undergraduate Exercise Science Course.

Applied research experiences can provide numerous benefits to undergraduate students, however few studies have assessed the perceptions of Exercise Science (EXS) students to an applied research experience. The purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) to describe the rationale and implementation of an applied research experience into an EXS curriculum and 2) to evaluate EXS undergraduate students' perceptions of an applied research experience. An EXS measurement course was chosen for implementation of an applied research experience. The applied research experience required groups of students to design, implement, and evaluate a student-led research project. Fourteen questions were constructed, tailored to EXS undergraduate students, to assess students' perceptions of the experience. Qualitative analysis was used for all applicable data, with repeated trends noted; quantitative data were collapsed to determine frequencies. There was an overall positive student perception of the experience and 85.7% of students agreed an applied research experience should be continued. 84.7% of students perceived the experience as educationally enriching, while 92.8% reported the experience was academically challenging. This experience allowed students to develop comprehensive solutions to problems that arose throughout the semester; while facilitating communication, collaboration, and problem solving. Students believed research experiences were beneficial, but could be time consuming when paired with other responsibilities. Results suggest an applied research experience has the potential to help further the development of EXS undergraduate students. Understanding student perceptions of an applied research experience may prove useful to faculty interested in engaging students in the research process.