Personalized Online Occupational Therapy Intervention for Adults With Scleroderma

Summary

This pilot exploratory randomized controlled trial will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and safety of a personalized online occupational therapy intervention for adults with scleroderma in Spain. Participants will be individually randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either an online occupational therapy intervention added to usual care or usual care alone. The intervention consists of eight individual online occupational therapy sessions delivered over four weeks, with two sessions per week, plus individualized materials. The control group will continue with usual care during the intervention and follow-up period. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and four weeks after the end of the intervention. The primary outcome is feasibility, defined as the proportion of participants in the intervention group who complete at least six of the eight planned sessions. Secondary and exploratory outcomes include acceptability, adherence, safety, technical feasibility, functioning, quality of life, occupational balance, hand function, and individual goal attainment.

Conditions

• Scleroderma
• Scleroderma (Limited and Diffuse)
• Systemic Sclerosis (SSc)

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Personalized Online Occupational Therapy Intervention

The intervention consists of eight individual online occupational therapy sessions delivered over four weeks, with two sessions per week, through videoconference and without recording. Sessions are individualized according to baseline assessment, participant needs, and personalized occupational goals. The intervention may include goal setting using SMART criteria and Goal Attainment Scaling, hand preparation for occupation, self-care and pain management strategies, energy conservation, daily planning, environmental adaptations, assistive product guidance, occupational balance strategies, functional integration, and a maintenance plan. The intervention is delivered in addition to usual care.

OTHER

Usual Care

Usual care refers to the ordinary health and social care that participants receive in their usual context. It is not administered by the research team. Participants allocated to this arm will not receive additional occupational therapy from the research team during the intervention and follow-up period. Changes in usual care will be recorded at post-intervention and follow-up assessments.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Asociación Española de Esclerodermia

  collaborator OTHER

• Universidad de Zaragoza

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Sandra M Espín Tello, PhD · Universidad de Zaragoza

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-05-16

Primary Completion

2026-07-31

Completion

2026-08-31

Countries

• Spain

Study Locations