Table 1.

Process evaluation plan and results.

Component of study	Method of evaluation	Results
Recruitment and retention
Recruitment	Number approached Duration of recruitment Ability to obtain and retain desired number of subjects Compare completers to non-completers	Able to recruit 20 subjects of 172 approached 6 months Loss of 5 subjects during 12-week follow-up Completers had significantly higher levels of total and moderate physical activity and walking
Recruitment methods Onsite Flyers Previous research participants	# of participants recruited via each method Assess barriers to each method of recruitment	Onsite (16); Flyers (0); Previous research (4) No-show patients and high traffic in clinic impeded recruitment
Implementation
Fidelity
Initial counseling session	Session fully audiotaped Essential elements covered according to interview guide Adherence to principals of MI as assessed by independent auditor familiar with MI techniques	100% audiotaped All essential elements covered as planned MI tapes reviewed (n = 4) during study period. Adherence to principles of MI was 40–50% in subject 4 and 5 and increased to 100% and 80% in subject 16 and 20.
Weekly phone calls delivered	% of weekly calls successfully made/step counts obtained	168/180 calls with collected data (93% of calls successfully made/step data collected)
Phone call assessment of adverse events as part of data safety monitoring plan	% of participants who have adverse events assessed % of participants who report an adverse event (include type of event) % of participants hospitalized	Patients were assessed weekly for adverse events (except for missing phone contact: 7%) No adverse events related to intervention occurred during study period. 4 subjects required hospitalization during study: one for HF symptoms; one for a stroke; one for electrolyte imbalance; one for elective catheterization and post-catheterization arrhythmia.
Phone call assessment of concerns or barriers related to exercise	% of calls that include assessment of exercise concerns or barriers to exercise	100% of calls with successful contact reviewed concerns/barriers. Subjects were able to identify symptoms and barriers which were discussed
Dose
Counseling Session	Duration of session (minutes)	Mean duration of initial session = 1 hour; mean interview time: 12.57 ± 4.84 minutes
Successful phone contact Phone call duration	Percentage of calls that result with contact with participant Assess length of each call in minutes	93% phone call contact successful Approximate length of each call: 5 minutes
Phone call content	Notes taken during each call regarding content areas	Notes taken during each call: content focused on activity conducted in prior week; symptoms experienced; plan for following week to maintain or increase step count according to subjects’ willingness; symptom management
Adherence to daily diary Step count Corresponding Borg scale Daily weight Use of hand weights	Assess % of days each component is documented for 15 subjects (of 84 days total)	Step count recorded: 801/1260 = 64% of days Borg scale: 628/1260 = 50% of days Daily weight: 651/1260 = 52% of days Hand weight use: 400/1260 = 32% of days
Context
Ability to conduct intervention at site during clinic hours	Qualitative assessment of site, staffing, logistics	Use of CTSI research unit was essential in collecting data since private area was need for data collection and long hallway was required for functional capacity data Providers varied in their referral of potential subjects The majority of subject data was collected on the day of visit. Some subjects chose to return to clinic for data collection
Reach
Reach Participation rate	Ability to recruit in target population % of patients who agreed to participate Collection of data regarding why subjects were excluded + age and gender collected	20 low-income ethnic minority adults with HF recruited Demonstrated ability to recruit in HF clinic n = 172 approached; n = 152 excluded per criteria or declined to participate Data collected on all patients approached but excluded; age and gender collected

Note. CTSI = Clinical and Translational Science Institute; HF = heart failure; MI = motivational interviewing.