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ABSTRACT: Obesity is an urgent public health problem, yet only a few clinical trials have systematically tested the efficacy of long-term weight-loss maintenance interventions. This randomized clinical trial tested the efficacy of a novel mind and body technique for weight-loss maintenance.
Participants were obese adults who had completed a six-month behavioral weight-loss program prior to randomization. Those who successfully lost weight were randomized into either an experimental weight-loss maintenance intervention, Tapas Acupressure Technique (TAT®), or a control intervention comprised of social-support group meetings (SS) led by professional facilitators. TAT combines self-applied light pressure to specific acupressure points accompanied by a prescribed sequence of mental steps. Participants in both maintenance conditions attended eight group sessions over six months of active weight loss maintenance intervention, followed by an additional 6 months of no intervention. The main outcome measure was change in weight from the beginning of the weight loss maintenance intervention to 12 months later. Secondary outcomes were change in depression, stress, insomnia, and quality of life. We used analysis of covariance as the primary analysis method. Missing values were replaced using multiple imputation.
Among 285 randomized participants, 79% were female, mean age was 56 (standard deviation (sd) = 11), mean BMI at randomization was 34 (sd = 5), and mean initial weight loss was 9.8 kg (sd = 5). In the primary outcome model, there was no significant difference in weight regain between the two arms (1.72 kg (se 0.85) weight regain for TAT and 2.96 kg (se 0.96) weight regain for SS, p < 0.097) Tests of between- arm differences for secondary outcomes were also not significant. A secondary analysis showed a significant interaction between treatment and initial weight loss (p < .036), with exploratory post hoc tests showing that greater initial weight loss was associated with more weight regain for SS but less weight regain for TAT.
The primary analysis showed no significant difference in weight regain between TAT and SS, while secondary and post hoc analyses indicate direction for future research.
BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 03/2012; 12:19. · 2.24 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Traditional recruitment methods for clinical trials, such as telephone, mail, and print media, are often inefficient, costly, and use large amounts of staff time and resources.
This analysis was conducted to determine whether retention, demographics, and outcomes differed between enrolled participants who responded to recruitment outreach using an Internet-based information and registration system and enrollees whose first contact was with study staff via telephone.
We identified potentially eligible participants from Kaiser Permanente Northwest (KPNW) databases and mailed brochures inviting them to participate in the Life weight loss maintenance study. We also used employee newsletters, a member-directed website, and messages to employee email distribution lists to publicize the study. All outreach methods contained both a website address and a telephone number through which respondents could register for an information session. The website contained the same information as was provided by staff over the telephone.
Out of 2122 potential participants who expressed interest in the study, 70% did so through the website. There was no difference in retention rates between enrollees who initiated contact through the website (WEB = 308) and enrollees who contacted the study by telephone (staff = 161). The WEB group was younger (p = 0.01), had higher income (p = 0.01) and education (p < 0.01) levels, and lower body mass index (BMI; p < 0.01). There was a trend toward greater weight loss in the WEB group (p = 0.06).
We did not conduct a formal cost analysis of the two methods. Also, the population for this analysis was mostly Caucasian and middle income; thus, we cannot draw conclusions about the generalizability of our findings to more racially and economically diverse populations.
Enrolled participants who used a website to register for an initial study information session had similar study retention and outcome performance as enrollees who used a more traditional telephone method. For larger clinical trials, a website may help researchers more efficiently and cost-effectively achieve recruitment, eligibility, and randomization goals. More research is needed to determine whether similar recruitment and retention patterns are observed among racially and economically diverse populations when these and similar methods are compared.
Clinical Trials 01/2012; 9(2):226-31. · 1.92 Impact Factor
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Cheryl Ritenbaugh,
Mimi Nichter,
Mark A Nichter,
Kimberly L Kelly,
Colette M Sims,
Iris R Bell,
Heide M Castañeda, Charles R Elder,
Mary S Koithan,
Elizabeth G Sutherland,
Marja J Verhoef,
Sarah L Warber,
Stephen J Coons
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ABSTRACT: Patients receiving complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies often report shifts in well-being that go beyond resolution of the original presenting symptoms. We undertook a research program to develop and evaluate a patient-centered outcome measure to assess the multidimensional impacts of CAM therapies, utilizing a novel mixed methods approach that relied upon techniques from the fields of anthropology and psychometrics. This tool would have broad applicability, both for CAM practitioners to measure shifts in patients' states following treatments, and conventional clinical trial researchers needing validated outcome measures. The US Food and Drug Administration has highlighted the importance of valid and reliable measurement of patient-reported outcomes in the evaluation of conventional medical products. Here we describe Phase I of our research program, the iterative process of content identification, item development and refinement, and response format selection. Cognitive interviews and psychometric evaluation are reported separately.
From a database of patient interviews (n = 177) from six diverse CAM studies, 150 interviews were identified for secondary analysis in which individuals spontaneously discussed unexpected changes associated with CAM. Using ATLAS.ti, we identified common themes and language to inform questionnaire item content and wording. Respondents' language was often richly textured, but item development required a stripping down of language to extract essential meaning and minimize potential comprehension barriers across populations. Through an evocative card sort interview process, we identified those items most widely applicable and covering standard psychometric domains. We developed, pilot-tested, and refined the format, yielding a questionnaire for cognitive interviews and psychometric evaluation.
The resulting questionnaire contained 18 items, in visual analog scale format, in which each line was anchored by the positive and negative extremes relevant to the experiential domain. Because of frequent informant allusions to response set shifts from before to after CAM therapies, we chose a retrospective pretest format. Items cover physical, emotional, cognitive, social, spiritual, and whole person domains.
This paper reports the success of a novel approach to the development of outcome instruments, in which items are extracted from patients' words instead of being distilled from pre-existing theory. The resulting instrument, focused on measuring shifts in patients' perceptions of health and well-being along pre-specified axes, is undergoing continued testing, and is available for use by cooperating investigators.
BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 12/2011; 11:135. · 2.24 Impact Factor
