MOVE

PI: Dr. Angela Bryan

“Exercise adherence and cognitive decline: Engaging with the Black community to develop and test a goal-setting exercise intensity intervention”

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Reason for this study: The prevalence of age-associated conditions, particularly cognitive impairment, is a growing concern in today’s aging population. Previous research has shown that consistent engagement in moderate to vigorous physical activity is associated with a lower risk for age-associated cognitive decline, but a little over half of Americans meet the World Health Organization physical activity recommendations, and this proportion decreases with age and is consistently lower for Black Americans. Thus, further development of theory-based exercise interventions in non-white older communities is necessary to develop strategies to increase overall public health and reduce racial disparities in existing research. This project will work with our community partner, the Gyedi Project, to tailor an exercise intervention for the African American and Black immigrant communities in the Denver area. 

What you will do: This study involves meeting with our researchers at the Aurora Center for Active Adults (ACAA) or Hiawatha Recreation Center (HRC) (whichever is more convenient for you) a total of 14 times. At the initial visit (visit 1), your vitals will be taken, and you will answer a series of questions and surveys about your experiences and attitudes with exercise as well as complete some brief physical tasks, one of which will determine a personalized schedule of exercise intensity for you. Following this visit, you will return to the ACAA or HRC three times per week for four weeks (visits 2-13) to complete supervised exercises with a research assistant, some of which will include completing surveys. During the final supervised exercise visit, you will be asked to set a basic or challenging goal for engaging in physical activity at your assigned level of intensity for the next month. After this visit, you will work to complete this goal over the next month on your own. Following this month, you will have your final visit (visit 14), during which you will complete the same surveys and physical activities as at your initial visit as well as a 30-minute interview about your experience in this study.