None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
In New Zealand, around 45,000 people live with stroke and many studies have reported that benefits gained during initial rehabilitation are not sustained. This leads to reduced function over time; however, evidence indicates that participation in physical interventions prevents this functional decline. Whether a person receives ongoing stroke services is often related to factors, such as whether resources are available and geographical location. This trial will determine if the Augmented Community Telerehabilitation Intervention (ACTIV) programme supports people with stroke in the transition from rehabilitation to independence and if that results in better outcomes and quality of life. The ACTIV programme is a low cost intervention and uses readily available technologies, such as telephone and mobile phones combined with face-to-face visits from a physiotherapist to help people with stroke resume activities they enjoyed doing before the stroke. In-depth interviews will also be used to explore the experiences of people with the intervention. Measures of cost will be collected to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the intervention.
Interventions
A six month intervention comprising four face to face physiotherapy sessions (consisting of exercises working towards a specific goal), five telephone calls and 1-2 text messages per week, to encourage continuation of the prescribed exercise plan. Each physiotherapy intervention will be approximately 45 mins in duration and will occur at baseline, after 2 weeks, 12 weeks and 24 weeks. The phone calls will be approximately 20 mins in duration and will occur at 1 week, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 16 weeks
A six month intervention comprising four face to face physiotherapy sessions (consisting of exercises working towards a specific goal), five telephone calls and 1-2 text messages per week, to encourage continuation of the prescribed exercise plan. Each physiotherapy intervention will be approximately 45 mins in duration and will occur at baseline, after 2 weeks, 12 weeks and 24 weeks. The phone calls will be approximately 20 mins in duration and will occur at 1 week, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 16 weeks and 20 weeks. The treating physiotherapist makes the phone calls and discusses whether the exercises have been managed and how the participant is working towards their goal. They discuss any barriers to exercise completion and make suggestions to modify the programme if problems are occurring. The exercises will consist of simple functional exercises such as sit to stand, walking and balance, which directly pertain to acheiving the desired goal. The therapist and participant between them will agree on when the exercises will be done, including how many, what level of difficulty and any safety concerns. The participant will then do the exercises in their own home.
Sponsors
Denise Taylor
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
20 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Have had a first ever stroke of haemorrhagic or ischaemic origin. Are over the age of 20 years, have been discharged from their District Health Board, inpatient, outpatient and community physiotherapy services to live in their own home (participants involved in other forms of therapy such as OT, Tai Chi or community exercise programmes will not be excluded) Have medical clearance from their GP to participate in a low to moderate level activity programme Score at least 3 on a telephone cognitive screening questionnaire (Callahan et al 2002) Have a limitation in physical function of leg, arm or both and have had their stroke less than 18 months ago
Exclusion criteria
Have a brain stem or cerebellar stroke that has been confirmed by a medial practitioner. Are unable to understand and speak basic level English
Outcome results
None listed