What is the America Walks Study?
America Walks is a mobile app based research study to determine walking behavior of individuals in the United States. Join to find out how much you are walking compared to others in your state and demographic category.
Why is this study being done?
This will be the first study to measure walking activity using mobile phones. It is well known that physical activity can promote well-being and help prevent several chronic diseases. It is recommended that an individual should do moderate to vigorous walking for 30 minutes or walk approximately 10,000 steps everyday. Several studies have reported measuring walking activity using self-reported surveys, or pedometers in samples ranging from a dozen to a couple of thousand participants. However these studies have largely required participants to enter their walking data manually, either from memory or from pedometer recordings.
With the rapid availability of activity sensors embedded in smart-phones (such as Apple’s iPhone version 5 and up and several Google’s Android phone models), it is now possible to track physical activity data passively from the end-user (details below) and do so for longer durations as individuals have increasingly begun to use their Phones as a continuous device of use.
Who is sponsoring this study?
This study is being sponsored by TrialX Research, a division of TrialX Inc. TrialX is clinical research informatics company headquartered in New York City. Started by two Columbia University graduate students in 2008, TrialX develops solutions to empower patients to participate in clinical research.
Who will oversee this study?
The study is being led by the Principal Investigator, Chintan Patel, PhD. Dr. Patel is the Co-founder and CTO of TrialX, he received his PhD in Biomedical Informatics from Columbia University and has a decade long experience building clinical informatics solutions.
Who is eligible to participate in this study?
The study is open to anyone who 18 years or older and is a resident of the United States (50 states and the District of Columbia). You also need to have an Apple iOS phone (5s or above) or an Android phone that includes step count sensor
Are there any risks in participating in the study?
No potential risk is anticipated from the study beyond the risk that is entailed in walking or in using mobile phones. Use of the study App may cause some device battery usage but this would be minimal.
What data will be collected as part of the study?
The study will collect your demographic data and also your step count as recorded on your device. The step count data will be obtained from the device only upon your permission for the last 30 days from the date you provide consent to participate and for next 30 days or till you withdraw from the study
How will the study data be used?
The data collected will be used to determine the following:
(1) Walking activity as measured by the average daily number of steps walked and its variation during the 30-day study duration at an individual and study cohort level.
(2) The difference between self-reported perception of walking activity (as reported by participants in the demographic survey) and the actual walking activity as measured by daily step count.
(3) To compare the average number of steps walked by participants across different demographic categories for each item such as age, gender, ethnicity, location, marital status and income.
(4) To determine if individual’s baseline average step counts differ significantly from their average step count during the 30-day study period.
What will I need to do if I participate?
The study will require you to complete a 2 question pres-screener, give informed consent and complete a demographic survey (total time estimated 10-15 mins). Upon completion of these tasks you will be enrolled in the study and your step count data will be read automatically from your device for 30 days or till you withdraw.
How will my privacy be safeguarded?
All data collected as part of the study will be held strictly confidential and secure. The data will only be analyzed by authorized individuals and any results of the study will not reveal any personally identifiable information.
Can i withdraw/opt-out after enrolling?
Yes, you can opt-out at any time after enrolling.
How long will the study be running?
The study will be conducted for 120 days and each participant will be expected to participate for 30 days.
How many people will be recruited for this study?
We aim to recruit at-least 200 people. So help us spread the word about the study by sharing this website with others.
Who can I contact about this study?
You can email us at AmericaWalks@trialx.com or call us at 212-537-6944