Recruiting

Observational Study

Sponsor:

Lakehead University

Code:

NCT06823336

Conditions

Social Support (Formal and Informal)

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: Female

Age: 0+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Intervention

Control

Study Details

Brief summary:

The purpose of this randomized controlled pilot trial is to test the effectiveness of a six-week tailored physical activity program with and without peer mentoring on the psychological constructs and exercise behaviour of inactive undergraduate women. The objectives are to:

  • Quantify the degree to which a peer-mentorship intervention affects exercise motivation determined through three basic psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness).
  • Examine general psychological distress and exercise engagement throughout the study.
  • Qualitatively explore participants' experiences following the completion of the program using an open-ended survey to gain a better understanding of its impact.

Researchers will compare the parallel arm conditions to see how the inclusion of social support impacts exercise engagement.

Participants will be asked to engage in exercise three times a week at the campus gym; those in the intervention condition will have an assigned peer-mentor who will join them for one weekly session and virtually communicate with them between sessions.

Conditions

Social Support (Formal and Informal)

Study ID

NCT06823336

Start date

Jan 28, 2025

Status verified date

Feb, 2025

Completion date

Aug, 2025

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jun, 2025

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: Female

Age: 0+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Identify as a woman
  • Full-time undergraduate student at Lakehead University
  • Classified as an exercise initiate (e.g., report one or fewer bouts of exercise per week)
  • Reported an absence of health risks that would interfere with exercise engagement as determined by the Get Active Questionnaire
  • Able to commute to Lakehead's campus
  • Want to become more active
  • Have access to online technology (e.g., email, zoom)
  • Can speak, read, and write in English fluently

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Identify as a man
  • Not enrolled as a full-time undergraduate student at Lakehead University
  • Report the presence of health risks that would interfere with exercise engagement
  • Meet the national physical activity guidelines (e.g., 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per week)
  • Unable to commute to campus
  • Lack of access to technology
  • Not fluent in English

Study Design

Enrollment

24 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Prevention

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Exercise plus mentor

Participants will be encouraged to engage in independent exercise twice a week for 30 minutes. They will be randomly assigned to a peer-mentor, with whom they will engage in on-on-one exercise once a week for 30 minutes. Between sessions, they will engage in virtual communication with each other for about 30 minutes each week. Each participant-mentor duo will continue this protocol for 6-weeks.

active comparator: Exercise alone

Participants will be encouraged to engage in exercise three times a week for thirty minutes, over a span of 6-weeks.

Interventions

Intervention

Participants will be encouraged to engage in independent exercise twice a week for 30 minutes. They will be randomly assigned to a peer-mentor, with whom they will engage in on-on-one exercise once a week for 30 minutes. Between sessions, they will engage in virtual communication with each other for about 30 minutes each week. Each participant-mentor duo will continue this protocol for 6-weeks.

Control

Participants will be encouraged to engage in exercise three times a week for thirty minutes, over a span of 6-weeks.

Primary outcome measure

  • Psychological Needs Satisfaction in Exercsie Scale [ Time Frame: During enrollment at baseline, after week 3, and at the end of the study at week 6 ]
  • Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire- 3 [ Time Frame: During enrollment at baseline, after week 3, and at the end of the study at week 6 ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Madeline MSc Student

807-632-7022mmfabian@lakeheadu.ca

Erin S Pearson, PhD

807-343-8010Erin.pearson@lakeheadu.ca

Locations

Lakehead University

Recruiting

Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, P7B 5E1

Contacts

Madeline Fabiano, MSc (candidate)

8073552204mmfabian@lakeheadu.ca

Erin Pearson, PhD

807-343-8010erin.pearson@lakeheadu.ca

More Information

Sponsor

Lakehead University

Last update posted

Feb 12, 2025

Last verified

Feb, 2025

Keywords

  • Exercise psychology
  • Peer-mentorship program
  • Womens health
  • Pandemic recovery era
  • mixed methods
  • Undergraduate women

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Lakehead University on 2025-02-12.