Table 3.

Outcome measures and data collection time points by research aim

Variable	Measure description (data collection time points)
	Baseline & screening
Demographic and clinical variables Tool	Demographic (e.g., race, gender, age, marital status)
	Clinical data (e.g., ejection fraction or EF, medications, BMI, comorbidities)
Cardiopulmonary stress test	Determine suitability for exercise (no significant ischemia or arrhythmias)
	Heart rate ranges and appropriate levels of exercise training
	Primary outcome – Aim 1 (Baseline, 6, 12 and 18 months)
Adherence
Self-report	Exercise diary for self-report of sessions per week and minutes per session [56]
Heart rate monitor	Heart rate monitor (used as validation of self-reported exercise each week
	Evaluation of intervention mechanisms – Aim 2 (Baseline, 6, 12 and 18 months)
Knowledge	Physical activity & heart disease I.Q. – developed by NHLBI [57] 12 true/false items testing knowledge of how physical activity affects the heart
Attitudes	Attitudes toward physical activity/exercise - 8 items measure negative attitudes toward physical activity and 6 items measure positive attitudes toward physical activity [58]
Self-efficacy	Barriers Self-Efficacy Scale (BARSE) – 13 item scale measures self-efficacy or confidence in exercise behavior [59];
Self-management	Physical Activity Self-Regulation Scale (PASR 12)
	Self-monitoring (2 items), Goal setting (2 items), Eliciting social support (2 items), Reinforcements (2 items), Time management (2 items) and Relapse management (2 items) [60]
Social support	Revenson Support Scale
	Problematic support (4 items) and Positive support (16 items) [61]
	Health outcomes – Aim 3 (Baseline, 6, 12 and 18 months)
Physical function	6 Minute Walk Test (6 MWT) – Objective measure of functional capacity (sub-maximal). Distance walked in 6 minutes [62, 63]
Psychological function	PROMIS-29 Profile v1.0: Anxiety (4 item subscale), Depression (4 item subscale), Satisfaction with Social Role (4 item subscale) [64]
Symptoms	Dyspnea/Fatigue Scale – Measures the magnitude of the task that evokes dyspnea or fatigue, the magnitude of the pace at which the task is performed, and the associated functional impairment in general activities as a result of the symptoms [65]
Quality of life	Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) – 23-item disease-specific measure of quality of life in heart failure [66, 67]
	Qualitative data – Aim 5
Open-Ended questions	All subjects complete at baseline
All subjects at baseline	Survey prior experience with exercise, expectations related to exercise and outcomes from participation
Open-ended comments on exercise diaries	All subjects complete each week of the study
All subjects each week	What helped you to exercise this week? What made exercising a challenge this week? Other comments?
One-on-one interviews	Open-ended questions with probing (30 minutes)
with HC subjects	Interviews completed at 3, 6, 12 and 18 months
	Survey subjects’ perceptions of their experience with exercise adherence (e.g., challenges with adherence, helpful strategies, difficulties)
One-on-one interviews with coaches	Open-ended questions with probing (every 6 months during active recruitment)
	Questions about perceptions of exercise adherence experiences, strategies/difficulties working with patients, assessments of intervention components, descriptions of the intervention process for each phase
One-on-one interviews with group session leaders	Open-ended questions with probing (every 6 months during active recruitment)
	Questions about perceptions of exercise adherence experiences, strategies/difficulties working with patients, assessments of intervention components, descriptions of the intervention process