Kidney Transplant Improvement Through New Exercise Training to Increase Capacity

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a home-based exercise program can be safely and feasibly used to improve physical activity and physical function in adults waiting for a kidney transplant. The study will also learn how acceptable and useful this program is for participants.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Can a remote exercise program be delivered successfully to people on the kidney transplant waiting list?
* Do participants follow the exercise program and wear a physical activity tracker as asked?
* Is the program safe and well tolerated?

Researchers will compare two groups to see if the exercise program leads to higher physical activity and better physical function:

* Usual pre-transplant care with a physical activity tracker
* Usual pre-transplant care plus an online exercise program

Participants will:

* Wear a wrist activity tracker to measure daily physical activity
* Complete a one-week baseline period before being assigned to a study group
* Be randomly assigned (like flipping a coin) to one of two groups
* If assigned to the exercise group, take part in online exercise classes at home for 12 weeks with reminders and feedback, and then another 12 weeks without reminders and feedback
* Answer questionnaires about their health, activity, and experience in the study

This study may help researchers learn how to better support people waiting for kidney transplant through safe, home-based exercise programs.

Conditions

• Chronic Kidney Disease 5D
• Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 5
• Kidney Failure
• Kidney Failure,Chronic
• Renal Insufficiency Chronic
• Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 4
• Kidney Transplantation
• Waiting List
• Transplant Candidate
• Exercise Theraphy

Interventions

OTHER

Active control

Participants continue standard pre-transplant care provided by the transplant center and to wear a wrist worn activity tracker to measure daily step counts/physical activity.

BEHAVIORAL

Exercise Rehabilitation Program with Physical Activity Tracker

Participants in this arm will continue to receive their usual pre-transplant care and will also take part in a 12-week, home-based exercise prehabilitation program. Participants will receive a wrist-worn physical activity tracker and access to an online exercise platform designed for people with kidney disease. The program includes live and on-demand exercise classes that focus on light-to-moderate intensity aerobic and resistance exercises. Participants will be asked to complete at least two exercise classes per week. The intervention is delivered remotely, and participants will complete a brief virtual orientation before starting the program. The participants will receive reminders and feedback from the study team about their exercise and physical activity engagement. After the 12 week period, this group will be asked to continue to participate in the exercise program but without study reminders or feedback related to their exercise.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

  collaborator NIH

• University of Pennsylvania

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Sarah Schrauben, MD, MSCE · University of Pennsylvania

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

60 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-03-24

Primary Completion

2028-03-31

Completion

2028-05-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations