Effects of the Population-Based “10,000 Steps Duesseldorf” Intervention for Promoting Physical Activity in Community-Dwelling Adults: Protocol for a Nonrandomized Controlled Trial

Background The World Health Organization recommends 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (PA), which translates to approximately 7000 to 10,000 steps per day for adults. In Germany, less than half of the population in this age range meets this recommendation, highlighting the need for population-based intervention approaches for promoting daily PA. Objective The complex community-based PA intervention “10,000 Steps Ghent,” which was originally developed in Belgium and was shown to be effective for PA promotion, has been adapted for implementation and evaluation in 2 German cities. The original Belgian study is currently being replicated, and we aim to examine the effectiveness of the adapted intervention among adults living in intervention city districts in Duesseldorf when compared with those living in control city districts in Wuppertal, over the course of 1 year. Methods A controlled intervention trial examining the effects of an intervention addressing multiple levels (eg, individual level: website; organizational level: PA promotion in companies; community level: media campaigns and environmental changes) is being conducted. PA and various secondary outcomes will be assessed in 2 random samples of adults aged 25 to 75 years (n=399 in each city) at baseline and after 1 year. Results Funding for this study was obtained in March 2020. Recruitment for this study and baseline data collection were conducted from May 2021 to March 2022 (as of March 2022, 626 participants were enrolled in the study). The intervention will be implemented in Duesseldorf for 1 year from April 2022 onward, and follow-up assessments will be conducted, starting in May 2023 (until September 2023). Data analysis will be performed in fall 2023, and the results will be published in spring 2024. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first research project (currently underway in Germany) that is aimed at replicating the effects of a complex intervention for PA promotion that was previously shown to be effective in another European country. Trial Registration German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00024873; https://tinyurl.com/4c9e8azh International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/39175


Announcement of the
Dear Professor Pischke, Thank you for your participation in the above-mentioned BMBF announcement.We have thoroughly reviewed your above-mentioned project outline with the involvement of an interdisciplinary review panel.
We are pleased to inform you that your project outline is recommended for funding.Please find attached the detailed evaluation of your outline.The evaluation contains the conditions as well as further recommendations and notes.
Please provide comments on the implementation of the following conditions and recommendations: • In the intervention district, declarations of cooperation from companies and senior citizens' associations are also to be obtained.• A statement is to be developed on how the requested participatory preliminary phase of six months is to be used to strengthen ratio preventive aspects.• Geographic differences between intervention and control districts and their implications for the project should be addressed.
For budgetary reasons, the duration of the collaborative projects can probably begin no earlier than February 1, 2020.

Project titel
Evaluation of the impact of the community-based complex intervention "10,000 Steps Ghent" in two cities in North Rhine-Westphalia.
In the proposed project, the implementation and effectiveness of a community-based complex intervention to promote physical activity among adults will be evaluated over a period of one year in the cities of Düsseldorf (intervention group) and Wuppertal (control group) as part of a controlled intervention study.The original study was conducted in two cities in Belgium.
The project leaders are proven scientists in the field of prevention research, as evidenced by numerous publications, including in international journals.The topic is of great relevance not least because the intervention is easy to communicate and clear positive results were achieved in the initial study.Overall, the study design of the proposed project is absolutely convincing.
However, since Düsseldorf is already a "Healthy City," contamination effects cannot be completely ruled out.Furthermore, geographical differences between the two cities are not sufficiently taken into account.For example, Wuppertal is significantly hillier than Düsseldorf, which is why an increase in physical activity is likely to be easier to achieve there than in Wuppertal.All in all, the elements of relative prevention tend to be less pronounced.So far, there are also comparatively few cooperation commitments from practical partners (e.g., there is a lack of senior citizens' associations and companies). Vote: The application is recommended for funding with conditions

Conditions
• In the intervention district, declarations of cooperation from companies and senior citizens' associations are also to be obtained.• A statement is to be developed on how the requested participatory preliminary phase of six months is to be used to strengthen ratio preventive aspects.• Geographic differences between intervention and control districts and their implications for the project should be addressed.
Federal Ministry of Education and Research for the funding of research to strengthen the evidence base and transfer in prevention research -"Quality in Health Research -" in the framework program Health Research of the Federal Government of 05.12.2018.hre project outline "Evaluation of the impact of the community-based complex intervention "10,000 Steps Ghent" in two cities in North Rhine-Westphalia" of 28.03.2019