None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
A parallel two-arm pilot RCT with 8-week intervention and 8-week follow-up will be conducted. A total of 76 individuals diagnosed with COPD will be recruited. Eligible individuals with COPD will be randomly allocated to home-based gamified digital intervention group or usual care group. Data will be collected at baseline, 8 weeks after baseline and 16 weeks after baseline. The 16-week assessment corresponds to an 8-week follow-up after completion of the 8-week intervention period. After the follow-up, the home-based gamified digital intervention will be offered to control group. Primary outcome are recruitment feasibility, retention and follow-up, intervention adherence, and acceptability. Secondary outcomes are the COPD Assessment Test (CAT), The modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea Questionnaire (mMRC), The WHO-5 Well-Being Index (WHO-5), COPD Self-Efficacy Scale (CSES), Digital Health Literacy Instrument (DHLI), an investigator-developed COPD knowledge questionnaire, and programme engagement/adherence questions (intervention group only).
Interventions
The intervention “HooHoo Frog” app is grounded in evidence-based COPD rehabilitation protocols, gamification-driven, and digital therapeutics principles. It is a digital gamified intervention designed to support participants with COPD for their self-management, providing features such as interactive games, education materials and reminders to enhance engagement. Participants can access the app on smartphones (iOS/Android), as well as tablets.
Participants allocated to the intervention group wil
The intervention “HooHoo Frog” app is grounded in evidence-based COPD rehabilitation protocols, gamification-driven, and digital therapeutics principles. It is a digital gamified intervention designed to support participants with COPD for their self-management, providing features such as interactive games, education materials and reminders to enhance engagement. Participants can access the app on smartphones (iOS/Android), as well as tablets. Participants allocated to the intervention group will receive access to HooHoo Frog, a home-based gamified digital self-management programe for people with COPD delivered through a WeChat Mini Program over an 8-week period. The programe includes gamified breathing exercises, pulmonary rehabilitation training videos, symptom self-monitoring functions for daily tracking of breathlessness and fatigue, a personalized progress dashboard, and educational components such as quizzes and knowledge cards to support health literacy and self-management behaviors. There is no mandatory minimum level of app use. However, participants will be encouraged to use the app at least three times per week for more than 3 minutes per time. Adherence to the intervention will be monitored using backend app usage data, including frequency of use and duration of sessions.
The home-based gamified digital self-management intervention (Pulmonary Rehab Buddy) was developed and refined through prior usability testing, in which usability and user satisfaction were assessed among people with COPD and the intervention was iteratively improved based on the findings. Building on this developmental work, and consistent with established frameworks for behavioural treatments for chronic diseases, the present study constitutes the piloting stage, evaluating the feasibility and
The home-based gamified digital self-management intervention (Pulmonary Rehab Buddy) was developed and refined through prior usability testing, in which usability and user satisfaction were assessed among people with COPD and the intervention was iteratively improved based on the findings. Building on this developmental work, and consistent with established frameworks for behavioural treatments for chronic diseases, the present study constitutes the piloting stage, evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of delivering the refined intervention within a pilot RCT, ahead of a future definitive trial. The home-based gamified digital self-management intervention comprises three main components. First, it includes breathing exercises and relaxing training programmes, included timed prompts for inhalation and exhalation. Second, it provides self-monitoring functions that enable participants to record symptoms such as breathlessness and mental health as needed. Third, it includes educational content, known as knowledge cards, aimed at improving health literacy and supporting self-management behaviours. Participants in the intervention group will be encouraged to use the programme at least twice per week over an 8-week intervention period, with each session expected to last 5- 10 minutes. Engagement will be supported through both automated reminders and the gamified design of the programme itself. Automated prompts and push notifications will remind participants to complete their scheduled sessions, with a follow-up prompt through manual Wechat message every 2 weeks by research assistant. In addition, the intervention itself incorporates gamification elements, including progress tracking, monitoring, and immediate positive feedback, designed to sustain motivation and ongoing engagement throughout the intervention period. Technical support for access or use of the home-based gamified digital self-management intervention will be provided by research team technician if required.
Sponsors
University of Auckland
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Educational / counselling / training
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Participants will be eligible for inclusion if they (1) self-report that they have been diagnosed with COPD by a medical practitioner using lung function tests; (2) are aged 18 years or older; (3) are willing and able to complete all study procedures and provide E-consent; (4) have access to the internet and can use a mobile phone or other web-based platform that can use this program; (5) and are fluent in Mandarin, can read and speak.
Exclusion criteria
Participants will be excluded if (1) their primary condition is another respiratory disease (e.g., asthma, bronchiectasis, lung cancer, tuberculosis, or other major respiratory disease); or (2) are currently participating in another COPD-related study or have completed it within the last three months; or (3) participants with severe mental disorders and cognitive impairment.
Outcome results
None listed