Chat 4 Heart Health

March 24, 2026: Study Design Paper Published for Chat 4 Heart Health

Posted on by Damon Seils

Dr. Michael Ho and Dr. Sheana Bull, principal investigators for NudgeThe study design paper for Chat 4 Heart Health has been published online in Trials. Congratulations to the study team on reaching this important milestone for all NIH Collaboratory Trials!

The Chat 4 Heart Health trial is testing the comparative effectiveness of 3 text messaging delivery strategies that have been shown to improve individuals’ self-management health behaviors, including physical activity and medication adherence. The study will provide evidence regarding the best population-based strategy for universal delivery to engage patients in self-management to improve the American Heart Association’s “Life’s Essential 8” measures for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health.

The study is being led by Mike Ho of Kaiser Permanente Colorado and Sheana Bull of the Colorado School of Public Health and is supported by a grant award from the National, Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Read the full study design paper.

March 6, 2025: Enrollment Begins for Several of the Newest NIH Collaboratory Trials

Posted on by Damon Seils

In recent months, 5 of the newest NIH Collaboratory Trials have begun to enroll research participants. Congratulations to the study teams from ARBOR-Telehealth, BEST-ICU, Chat 4 Heart Health, I CAN DO Surgical ACP, and the MOMs Chat & Care Study for reaching this important project milestone!

 ARBOR-Telehealth is evaluating the use of a telehealth physical therapy strategy for patients who present to primary care clinics with low back pain in rural communities. The study is supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

BEST-ICU is evaluating 2 strategies grounded in behavioral economics theory and implementation science to increase ABCDEF bundle adoption in the intensive care unit and improve care for critically ill adults across a variety of healthcare systems, particularly those serving populations with known health disparities. The ABCDEF bundle is a multicomponent, evidence-based intervention to improve team-based care. The trial is supported by the National, Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

Chat 4 Heart Health is testing the comparative effectiveness of 3 text messaging delivery strategies that have been shown to improve individuals’ self-management health behaviors, including physical activity and medication adherence. The study will provide evidence regarding the best population-based strategy for universal delivery to engage patients in self-management to improve the American Heart Association’s “Life’s Essential 8” measures for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health. The project is supported by NHLBI.

I CAN DO Surgical ACP is testing a system-based approach to help older adults undergoing elective surgery engage in advance care planning. Another goal of the study is to understand digital engagement, language, and social drivers of health that drive engagement in the intervention. The trial is supported by the National Institute on Aging.

The MOMs Chat and Care Study is testing the effectiveness of an integrated care model approach at 2 levels of intensity designed to facilitate timely, appropriate care for Black birthing people to reduce their risk for severe maternal morbidity. Patients in both study arms will receive close clinical and behavioral health monitoring and navigation to timely care and services. The study is supported by the National Institute of Nursing Research.

 

February 19, 2025: Texting for Behavior Change to Improve Chronic Care Management, in This Week’s PCT Grand Rounds

Posted on by Damon Seils

Chat 4 Heart Health logoIn this Friday’s PCT Grand Rounds, Michael Ho and Sheana Bull will present “Texting for Behavior Change: Lessons Learned Across 2 Interventions to Improve Chronic Care Management.”

The Grand Rounds session will be held on Friday, February 21, 2025, at 1:00 pm eastern.

This Grand Rounds session will report the results of Chat 4 Heart Health, an NIH Collaboratory Trial. The trial evaluated the comparative effectiveness of 3 text messaging delivery strategies that have been shown to improve individuals’ self-management health behaviors. The presenters will also share insights from Nudge, another NIH Collaboratory Trial, which tested a variety of text messaging strategies to encourage patients to refill their cardiovascular medications.

Ho is a senior clinician investigator at Kaiser Permanente Colorado’s Institute for Health Research. Bull is a professor of community and behavioral health at the Colorado School of Public Health.

Join the online meeting.

October 21, 2024: BEST-ICU and Chat 4 Heart Health Have Updated Study Snapshots, Ethics and Regulatory Documentation

Posted on by Damon Seils

Updated study snapshots and ethics and regulatory documentation are now available for the BEST-ICU and Chat 4 Heart Health trials. Both of these NIH Collaboratory Trials are supported by awards from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

BEST-ICU logoBEST-ICU transitioned from the planning phase to the implementation phase during the summer. As part of the transition, the study team reviewed and updated the minutes of their initial consultation with the Ethics and Regulatory Core. BEST-ICU is evaluating 2 strategies grounded in behavioral economics theory and implementation science to increase ABCDEF bundle adoption in the intensive care unit and improve care for critically ill adults across a variety of healthcare systems, particularly those serving populations with known health disparities. The ABCDEF bundle is a multicomponent, evidence-based intervention to improve team-based care.

Chat 4 Heart Health logoChat 4 Heart Health also transitioned from planning to implementation this summer. The trial is testing the comparative effectiveness of 3 text messaging delivery strategies that have been shown to improve individuals’ self-management health behaviors, including physical activity and medication adherence. The study will provide evidence regarding the best population-based strategy for universal delivery to engage patients in self-management to improve the American Heart Association’s “Life’s Essential 8” measures for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health.

July 15, 2024: Chat 4 Heart Health Transitions to Implementation Phase

Posted on by Damon Seils

The NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory Coordinating Center is pleased to announce that the Chat 4 Heart Health trial received approval to transition from the planning phase to the implementation phase of the study. Congratulations to Michael Ho and Sheana Bull, the Chat 4 Heart Health principal investigators, and their study team for reaching this important milestone!

Chat 4 Heart Health, an NIH Collaboratory Trial, will test the comparative effectiveness of 3 text messaging delivery strategies that have been shown to improve individuals’ self-management health behaviors, including physical activity and medication adherence. The study will provide evidence regarding the best population-based strategy for universal delivery to engage patients in self-management to improve the American Heart Association’s “Life’s Essential 8” measures for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health.

Bull and Ho spoke recently about the importance of the study at the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory’s 2024 Annual Steering Committee Meeting.

Bull is a professor of community and behavioral health and the director of the mHealth Impact Laboratory at the Colorado School of Public Health. Ho is a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. They also led the Nudge study, another NIH Collaboratory Trial.

Chat 4 Heart Health is supported through a cooperative agreement from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Learn more about Chat 4 Heart Health.

October 10, 2023: Ethics Consultation Documents Now Available for BEST-ICU, Chat 4 Heart Health, and TAICHIKNEE

Posted on by Damon Seils

Ethics and regulatory onboarding documentation for the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory’s newest NIH Collaboratory Trials is now available. The documents include meeting minutes and supplementary materials summarizing recent discussions of ethics and regulatory issues associated with the BEST-ICU, Chat 4 Heart Health, and TAICHIKNEE studies.

The consultations took place by video conference and included representation from the studies’ principal investigators, members of the NIH Collaboratory’s Ethics and Regulatory Core, NIH staff, and NIH Collaboratory Coordinating Center personnel. All of the projects are in their 1-year planning phase.

BEST-ICU will explore the prevention of health impairments exacerbated by health disparities in the intensive care unit (ICU) through the application of the ABCDEF bundle, a multicomponent, evidence-based intervention to improve team-based care. The objective of the study is to evaluate 2 strategies grounded in behavioral economic theory and implementation science to increase ABCDEF bundle adoption and, in turn, address known health disparities in the ICU.

Chat 4 Heart Health will use a patient-level randomized pragmatic trial to test the comparative effectiveness of 3 text messaging delivery strategies that have been shown to improve individuals’ self-management health behaviors, including physical activity and medication adherence. The study findings will provide evidence regarding the best population-based strategy for universal delivery to engage all patients with health disparities in self-management to improve the American Heart Association’s “Life’s Essential 8” measures for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health.

TAICHIKNEE will compare the effects of web-based tai chi interventions versus routine care for individuals experiencing knee pain due to osteoarthritis. The practice of tai chi integrates physical, psychosocial, and behavioral components and has exhibited clinically significant improvements in chronic knee osteoarthritis pain conditions. The results of the study will inform widespread adoption of mind-body approaches for knee osteoarthritis, which affects more than 32.5 million individuals in the United States, across healthcare systems.

Ethics and regulatory documentation for all of the NIH Collaboratory Trials is available on our Data and Resource Sharing page.

July 11, 2023: Chat 4 Heart Health NIH Collaboratory Trial Joins the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory

Posted on by Lauren Stewart

Headshots of Dr. Sheana Bull and Dr. Michael HoThe NIH Collaboratory is excited to announce the addition of Chat 4 Heart Health to its portfolio of innovative NIH Collaboratory Trials.

The American Heart Association (AHA) identifies Life's Essential 8 (LE8) lifestyle factors as eating better, being more active, quitting tobacco, getting healthy sleep, managing weight, controlling cholesterol, managing blood sugar, and managing blood pressure. When uncontrolled, these lifestyle factors lead to common coexisting chronic conditions, morbidity, healthcare costs, and death. Patients who experience health disparities are disproportionately affected by cardiovascular diseases, have worse disease control, and suffer greater sequelae.

Chat 4 Heart Health will use a patient-level randomized pragmatic trial to test the comparative effectiveness of 3 text messaging delivery strategies that have been shown to improve an individual's self-management health behaviors, including physical activity and medication adherence. The study findings will provide evidence regarding the best population-based strategy for universal delivery to engage all patients with health disparities in self-management to improve the AHA's LE8.

Dr. Michael Ho and Dr. Sheana Bull will serve as the co–principal investigators for Chat 4 Heart Health. Dr. Ho is a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Dr. Bull is a professor and past chair of the Department of Community and Behavioral Health at the Colorado School of Public Health, as well as the director of the mHealth Impact Lab.

The Chat 4 Heart Health NIH Collaboratory Trial is supported within the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory by a grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

Ho and Bull are experienced investigators in the NIH Collaboratory, and both serve currently as co-PIs on the Nudge NIH Collaboratory Trial.