Recruiting

Community-based Walking Program

Sponsor:

St. Louis University

Code:

NCT06859528

Conditions

Parkinson Disease

Parkinson Disease, Idiopathic

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 30 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Community Walking Program

Study Details

Brief summary:

This study will investigate the feasibility of a 6-month community walking program for people with Parkinson's disease (PD) and their care partners in greater Saint Louis, Missouri region. The walking program will consist of weekly, organized walking groups at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Participants in the program will use Nordic walking poles during the walks. The walking group(s) will meet once per week and will be supervised by walking group leaders from Saint Louis University. Participants will be given a smart watch to wear that will help step counts will be tracked in real-time. The program is designed to get people with Parkinson's disease out of their homes, cultivate a culture of connection with others with Parkinson's disease, and to be collectively accountable for a common goal toward increasing their physical and social engagement in their communities.

Conditions

Parkinson Disease

Parkinson Disease, Idiopathic

Study ID

NCT06859528

Start date

Apr 1, 2025

Status verified date

May, 2025

Completion date

Sep 30, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Mar 31, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 30 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 30-85 years old
  • Neurologist-diagnosed Parkinson's disease
  • Able to walk independently with or without a walking aid (e.g., cane, walker)
  • Willing to participate in study for at least 6 months

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Health diagnosis that would limit exercise participation (e.g., heart problems, uncontrolled blood pressure, exercise-induced asthma).
  • Additional neurologic disease or injury beyond Parkinson's disease.
  • Evidence of significant cognitive impairment. This will be determined by completing the Montreal Cognitive Assessment
  • Participants with poor walking ability (determined using the Timed Up and Go Test during initial testing).

Study Design

Enrollment

40 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Attend group community walking program for 60 minutes each week

Participants will participate in one, 60-minute group walk using Nordic poles at the Missouri Botanical Gardens for at least 6 months, with an optional continuation upto 12 months. Participants will be assessed before the program begins, after 6-months, and after 12 months. Falls will be prospectively collected for 6 months following completion of the program.

Interventions

Community Walking Program

This is a group, community walking program at local parks using Nordic walking poles. Participants will be encouraged to walk briskly but safely for 60 minutes one time per week with the ultimate goal of using this community walking program to drive behavioral change (increased physical and social engagement in their communities) throughout the week.

Primary outcome measure

  • Safety/Rate of Falls - Feasibility [ Time Frame: From enrollment to both the 6 and 12 month endpoints ]
  • Enrollment - Feasibility [ Time Frame: Through enrollment of all the study participants ]
  • Attendance - Feasibility [ Time Frame: Enrollment through the 6- and 12-month endpoints ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Jason K Longhurst, DPT, PHD

314-977-8533jason.longhurst@health.slu.edu

Locations

Integrated Health and Movement Science Laboratory, Saint Louis University

Recruiting

St. Louis, Missouri, United States, 63104

More Information

Sponsor

St. Louis University

Last update posted

May 14, 2025

Last verified

May, 2025

Keywords

  • Walking
  • Physical Activity
  • Social Connectedness
  • Loneliness

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by St. Louis University on 2025-05-14.