WomenFocused Education in CArdiac REhabilitation (WECARE) Pilot RCT

Summary

The goal of this pilot clinical trial is to learn if a women-focused education program can improve knowledge, health, and well-being in women with heart disease who are attending cardiac rehabilitation. It will also help researchers understand if this program can be delivered successfully in different rehabilitation programs.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Is it feasible to deliver this women-focused education program within routine cardiac rehabilitation programs?
* Do women who receive this program show improvements in heart health knowledge, quality of life, and healthy behaviours?

Researchers will compare women who receive the Cardiac College for Women program plus usual cardiac rehabilitation to those who receive usual cardiac rehabilitation alone to see if the program leads to better outcomes.

Participants will:

* Be randomly assigned to receive either the women-focused education program or usual care
* Attend cardiac rehabilitation as part of their regular care
* Complete questionnaires at the start and end of the program
* (If in the intervention group) attend online education sessions and use supporting materials
* (Optional) take part in a group discussion about their experience after completing the program

Conditions

• Cardiovascular Diseases
• Heart Diseases
• Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
• Behavior, Health

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Cardiac College for Women

Cardiac College for Women is a structured, women-focused cardiovascular education program delivered online during participation in cardiac rehabilitation. It consists of 12 sessions (60 minutes each) covering sex- and gender-specific cardiovascular risk factors, healthy lifestyle behaviours, psychosocial well-being, and self-management strategies. Sessions include presentations, videos, and interactive discussions facilitated by trained cardiac rehabilitation staff. Participants also receive tailored educational materials relevant to their cardiac condition and complete a reflection diary to support learning and behaviour change. The program is delivered remotely to improve accessibility and complement usual cardiac rehabilitation care.

BEHAVIORAL

Usual Cardiac Rehab Education

Standard cardiac rehabilitation education delivered as part of routine care. This includes group-based sessions covering cardiovascular risk factors, lifestyle modification, medication management, and secondary prevention. Sessions are typically delivered in mixed-gender groups and are not specifically tailored to women's cardiovascular health needs. Participants also receive supervised exercise and multidisciplinary support as part of comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• University Health Network, Toronto

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Gabriela LM Ghisi, PhD · University Health Network, Toronto

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-09-01

Primary Completion

2027-07-01

Completion

2027-09-01