None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Cardiac rehabilitation (CR), a programme designed to educate patients about their cardiovascular risk factors and encourage lifestyle change, has been shown to reduce cardiovascular deaths and hospital readmissions by 25%. However patient attendance at CR is minimal, often due to a lack of time or transport to attend centre-based sessions. Mobile technology potentially offers a solution. We propose a randomised controlled study to evaluate the effectiveness of a mobile phone delivered comprehensive CR programme on adherence to lifestyle change compared to usual care (encouragement to attend CR). The programme, Text4Heart, consists of a package of text messages and an interactive website to increase and maintain positive lifestyle changes, such as starting and maintaining regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, stopping smoking, and taking prescribed medications. If effective, this approach has potential to improve the delivery of comprehensive CR and could be scaled up nationally and internationally.
Interventions
The intervention is a mHealth comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programme. All intervention participants will receive a tailored programme of text messages (SMS) via their mobile phone with evidence-based information on actions that will reduce risk of subsequent events (e.g., education about risk factors, the impact changes can have on their risk, the importance of taking CVD medications, improving diet and exercise, reducing stress, and getting help for stopping smoking).
Each parti
The intervention is a mHealth comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programme. All intervention participants will receive a tailored programme of text messages (SMS) via their mobile phone with evidence-based information on actions that will reduce risk of subsequent events (e.g., education about risk factors, the impact changes can have on their risk, the importance of taking CVD medications, improving diet and exercise, reducing stress, and getting help for stopping smoking). Each participant in the intervention group will receive at minimum the basic CR program, consisting of 5 messages per week for 6 months. These will be sent at times to suit participants and will be personalised (including participant’s name). Participants can request extra messages on one behaviour they would like to focus on (physical activity, healthy eating, stopping smoking, or reducing stress), which would result in an additional 3 messages per week over the first 12 weeks. The intervention will be predominantly unidirectional but participants will be able to ‘text an expert’ about lifestyle change, with questions answered within 24 hours. Participants will also be asked to text in their pedometer step counts and will receive a tailored response. Participants will also have access to an interactive website which contains a blog, a graph of their physical activity progress, role model video messages, and weekly healthy lifestyle tips.
Sponsors
Leila Pfaeffli
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Blinded (masking used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
1. A clinically documented diagnosis of ischaemic heart disease (myocardial infarction, angina, revascularisation) within the previous 3 weeks 2. eligible for cardiac rehabilitation 3. have access to the Internet (participants will be provided with a basic mobile phone if needed)
Exclusion criteria
Untreated ventricular tachycardia, severe heart failure, life threatening co-existing disease with life expectancy less than 1 year, and significant exercise limitations other than CVD.
Outcome results
None listed