Scalable TELeheaLth Cancer CARe: The STELLAR Program to Treat Cancer Risk Behaviors

Launched by NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · Jan 6, 2023

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

The STELLAR Program is a clinical trial aimed at improving the health and quality of life of cancer survivors by helping them change risky behaviors related to obesity, smoking, and physical activity. Researchers want to find the best way to combine three types of support—encouraging physical activity, helping people quit smoking, and managing weight—into one program. They will also look at how well the program reaches different groups of people and whether it is more effective than standard care, which only provides information.

To participate, you need to be a Northwestern Medicine patient, over 18 years old, and meet at least two of these criteria: not getting enough exercise (less than 150 minutes a week), having a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more, or being a daily smoker. If you join the study, you'll set health goals and track your progress using an app or other methods. You'll have 16 telehealth sessions with study staff to discuss your progress. Throughout the study, researchers will check in with you at various points to understand how well the program is working. If you're considering joining, it’s important to know that there are some health conditions that may prevent you from participating, especially if they could make exercise unsafe.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Northwestern Medicine patient
• • Over 18 years old
• * Meet at least 1 of the following 3 criteria:
• • Engage in \<150 min/week of physical activity
• • BMI of ≥25
• • Report that they currently smoke or smoked within the last year
• • Diagnosed with any cancer (except non-melanoma skin)
• • Ability to attend telehealth visits either via landline, cell phone, smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer
• • 3 months post curative intent treatment if BMI of ≥25 or engage in \<150 min/week of physical activity
• • Post curative intent treatment if they currently smoke or smoked within the last year
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Currently in another dietary, weight loss, smoking cessation (including cessation pharmacotherapy), or physical activity treatment/intervention.
• • Limited level of oral and written English or Spanish
• • Cognitively impaired adults
• • Prisoners
• * Participants will be excluded from the physical activity and weight loss interventions (but not the smoking cessation component) for:
• • Absolute contraindications to exercise (i.e., acute myocardial infarction, complete heart block, acute congestive heart failure, unstable angina, uncontrolled hypertension), metastatic disease or planned elective surgery
• • Pregnant or plans to become pregnant.
• • Individuals engaging in the physical activity or weight loss interventions must pass pre- physical activity participation screening or obtain medical clearance