Effects of Adapted Snacktivity™ Intervention on Cognition and Self-Care in COPD Patients

Summary

This clinical trial aims to evaluate whether a culturally adapted Snacktivity™ program can improve cognitive function and self-care abilities in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in Hong Kong.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. Does the Snacktivity™ program improve the cognitive function of participants (including both global cognition and targeted subdomains)?
2. Does the program improve participants' self-care abilities?

The study consists of three sequential phases:

Phase 1 (Co-design workshops): Co-design workshops will be conducted with COPD patients, healthcare professionals (nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists), and family caregivers to culturally adapt the Snacktivity™ program for Hong Kong COPD patients.

Phase 2 (Feasibility Pilot RCT): The adapted program will be tested in a small-scale pilot study to assess its feasibility and short-term clinical effects.

Phase 3 (Full-scale RCT): A full-scale randomised controlled trial will be conducted to evaluate the program's efficacy on the primary and secondary outcomes.

Participants in the intervention group will be asked to:

Participate in the culturally adapted Snacktivity™ program that integrates short, manageable "snacks" of physical activity into daily routines.

Wear an activity tracker to monitor physical activity levels. Complete questionnaires at multiple time points assessing cognitive function, self-care abilities, physical activity levels, self-efficacy, exercise capacity, quality of life, anxiety, and depression.

Researchers will compare the intervention group to an attention control group (receiving usual care with health education) to see if the Snacktivity™ program leads to greater improvements in these outcomes.

Conditions

• COPD
• Physical Activity
• Cognition
• Self Care

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Snacktivity™ Intervention

Participants in this arm receive the culturally adapted Snacktivity™ program. The intervention integrates short, manageable "snacks" of moderate-intensity physical activity (2-5 minutes per session, 5-6 sessions per day) into daily routines to accumulate at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week. Participants wear a Garmin activity tracker to objectively monitor physical activity levels. The intervention lasts 12 weeks and includes a 30-minute pre-intervention guidance session, a self-guided manual with illustrated activity templates, and structured follow-up support consisting of one weekly 30-minute in-depth session and two weekly 10-15-minute brief sessions. During each follow-up session, researchers recommend specific activity templates based on the participant's reported daily routine and co-develop a personalized 2-3 day activity schedule, which is documented in the participant's training manual.

BEHAVIORAL

attention control

Participants in this arm receive usual care plus additional attention to control for the non-specific effects of time and contact. They attend a single 60-minute group health education session on general lifestyle modification, based on the Hospital Authority's "COPD Self-Management Guide" (3rd Edition), with no physical activity advice or recommendations provided. During the 12-week intervention period, they receive the same two-tier follow-up schedule as the intervention group (one weekly 30-minute session and two weekly 10-15-minute brief sessions), focusing on general lifestyle assessment (e.g., sleep quality, nutrition, mood) and encouragement to maintain healthy behaviors, without any physical activity planning or template selection.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The University of Hong Kong

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

60 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-07-15

Primary Completion

2028-06-30

Completion

2028-06-30