Home-based Exercise Therapy for Patients With PAD

Summary

Cardiovascular disease represents a considerable economic burden to society and effective preventive measures are necessary. Patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) have a severe impairment of functional ability, namely in walking distance due to muscle ischemia defined as intermittent claudication (IC). The discomfort related to IC contributes to a sedentary lifestyle, decreasing physical fitness level, aggravating cardiovascular risk factors leading to disease deterioration. Exercise programs are an effective, low-cost, low-risk option compared with more invasive therapies for IC. Home-based exercise therapy (HBET) is structured, unsupervised, self-directed programs that take place in the personal setting of the patient rather than in a clinical setting. HBET program implementation is feasible and eliminates barriers such as transportation issues, proximity to clinics, and conflicts with occupational responsibilities. Even though these programs have shown to be effective at improving walking performance and distance, their results fall below those seen in Supervised Exercise Therapy (SET) programs. Thus, innovative home-based walking programs need to be developed in order to improve results and make exercise therapy available to a larger percentage of the population. The use of Information and communication technology (ICT) tools for self-monitoring is considered key to change long-term behavior. The WalkingPAD project aims to develop health technology assessment methods and evaluate personal health intervention strategies. Investigators intend to demonstrate the technical feasibility and economic viability of a personalized medicine application in real-life healthcare settings. This project intends to find evidence for three major questions: Does an M-health monitored home-based exercise program supported by a virtual assistant empowers commitment to exercise plan and allows remote control of plan accomplishment? Is it superior to an M-health monitored home-based exercise program supported by a behavioral motivational intervention, in increasing maximum walking distance? Is it superior to a self-monitoring exercise, with a specific self-designed walking plan in the residence area, in increasing maximum walking distance?

Conditions

• Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
• Intermittent Claudication

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

WalkingPad plus Psychological Intervention - PsyWPad Group

The 24-week walking program will be monitored by the WalkingPAD application that will accompany the patient on their walks and record their adherence to the previously defined individual program. Motivational support for a behavioral intervention will include two face-to-face sessions and the following contacts will be made over the phone. The behavioral motivational intervention will follow the principles of 1) motivational interview, will be based on 2) Theory of self-determination, taking into account 3) components of the Transtheoretical Model of Change and the Theory of Planned Behavior.

BEHAVIORAL

WalkingPad plus Virtual Assistant - CyberWPad Group

The 24-week walking program will be monitored by the WalkingPAD application, which will accompany the patient on their walks and record their adherence to the previously defined individual program. Motivational support will be provided by a virtual assistant through daily and on-the-spot interactions and through support and motivational messages.

BEHAVIORAL

WalkingPad group - Paper WPad Group

The 24-week walking program will be supported by a printed prescription of an individualized HbET previously defined on the WalkingPAD platform. However, this group of patients will not have the support of an application to monitor and record adherence to the program. Motivational support for a behavioral intervention will include two face-to-face sessions and the following contacts will be made over the phone. The behavioral motivational intervention will follow the principles of 1) motivational interview, will be based on 2) Theory of self-determination, taking into account 3) components of the Trans-Theoretical Model of Change and the Theory of Planned Behavior.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro

  collaborator OTHER

• Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science-INESC TEC

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Centro Hospitalar do Porto

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Ivone Heitor, PhD · Centro Hospitalar do Porto

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

50 Years

Max Age

80 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2021-02-09

Primary Completion

2022-10-30

Completion

2023-11-30

Countries

• Portugal

Study Locations