NIH grant: Health Strides: Cluster Randomized Trial of a Workplace Plus Individual-Targeted Physical Activity Intervention for Head Start Staff (1R34HL186483-01)

retained text

NIH grant 1R34HL186483-01: Health Strides: Cluster Randomized Trial of a Workplace Plus Individual-Targeted Physical Activity Intervention for Head Start Staff
Institute: {'code': 'HL', 'abbreviation': 'NHLBI', 'name': 'National Heart Lung and Blood Institute', 'admin_org_id': '12500068', 'admin_funding_url': ''}. PI: Temitope O Erinosho. Award: $277375.
Start: 2026-07-25T00:00:00.
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Head Start staff provide essential early care and education to our youngest children (ages 0-6 years), yet their
heart health is at risk. Critically, over 1 in 3 (38%) Head Start Staff do not engage in moderate physical activity,
over half (51%) do not engage in vigorous physical activity, and studies of Head Start staff report the prevalence
of heart health conditions (obesity, high blood pressure) that are associated with low or no physical activity. Yet,
Head Start staff are underserved when it comes to interventions promoting physical activity. The proposed cluster
randomized controlled trial will address this crucial gap. This pilot study will assess the feasibility and effect of
Health Strides, a 6-month, multi-level intervention that targets both the workplace and individual behaviors to
promote physical activity among Head Start staff. The workplace-level component will entail a workplace
wellness committee to coordinate on-site activities and organizational supports for physical activity: small
physical activity equipment, motivational posters, designated physical activity breaks and wellness days for
group activities. The individual-level component will leverage an artificial intelligence (AI)-based chatbot for
personalized coaching, guiding staff in setting feasible and measurable physical activity goals, developing action
plans, and receiving tailored support to achieve their goals, complemented by objective self-monitoring via Fitbit
trackers. We will identify 8 Head Start centers from 2 similar Head Start grantee agencies, enroll 72 Heart Start
staff (8-10 per center) and collect baseline measures, randomly assign 1:1 each center (36 staff per arm) to
intervention or attention control (i.e., financial education), and assess follow-up 6 months post-intervention. We
will test the trial and intervention feasibility of Health Strides (Aim 1) by monitoring participant recruitment,
retention, and engagement in intervention activities, along with intervention acceptability. We will assess the
usability and use of Health Strides AI chatbot tool (Aim 2). Additionally, we will evaluate the effect of Health
Strides on physical activity (primary outcome), adiposity, and blood pressure (Aim 3). Health Strides aims to
improve Head Start staff’s heart health, strengthening their impact as early-life role models for children and
shaping their lifelong physical activity habits. Our preliminary work, which tested several intervention components
using a pre-post design and self-report measures, informed the current proposal. This feasibility pilot will directly
lead to a follow-up fully powered cluster randomized controlled trial to test Health Strides’ effectiveness. If
eventually proven effective, Health Strides can be used in workplaces with similar physical activity constraints
as a scalable and adaptable solution to address sedentary work environments and mitigate the U.S. burden of
heart disease.

document fetched 2026-08-02 08:24