Heal-Me Personalized Online Nutrition and Exercise Routines

Summary

Participation Requirements

Description

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 related social distancing have a profound impact on vulnerable people living with chronic conditions, including cancer and organ failure. Pre-pandemic, many of these patients relied on and benefited from multidisciplinary supports and structured programming to maintain well-be...

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 related social distancing have a profound impact on vulnerable people living with chronic conditions, including cancer and organ failure. Pre-pandemic, many of these patients relied on and benefited from multidisciplinary supports and structured programming to maintain well-being and function. Many of these in-person supports are not currently available, which has disconnected these patients from the care they need to stay well. Virtual modalities are a promising solution that allow multidisciplinary programs (i.e. exercise and nutrition) to continue to deliver support for these patients when social distancing doesn't allow these programs to run in-person. However, it's currently unclear whether virtual programming is acceptable in these populations, and what level of support is best in terms of benefits and costs. The purpose of this study is to compare 12-weeks of virtual multidisciplinary programming provided at three levels of support intensity to determine impacts on clinical outcomes, acceptability, and cost amongst outpatients with cancer, liver disease, or lung disease. OBJECTIVES: As compared to control, assess the impact of a 12-week virtual exercise and nutrition program (delivered at 2 levels of support) on: physical function and mental health outcomes. As compared to the modeled costs of in-person programming, assess the cost of a 12-week virtual exercise and nutrition program (delivered at 2 levels of support). Assess the acceptability of the virtual exercise and nutrition programming to patients and members of the study team who deliver the intervention. METHODS: This is a mixed-methods, 12-week randomized controlled trial with randomization to one of three study groups with increasing virtual multidisciplinary support for outpatients. Participants will include people living with one of the following three chronic conditions: cancer, lung disease, or lung or liver disease (post-transplantation). Group 1 - The standard of care response to COVID. Educational materials will be provided to patients via email. As needed, the package will include a combination of personalized exercises, disease-tailored tips for healthy eating and COVID precautions. Ad hoc telephone or virtual contact with patients will be at the providers' discretion. Group 2 - An app-based, "personnel-light" approach to virtual care with a focus on support through group-based interactions with the Trainers and other participants during live group exercise and nutrition classes (~3/week). The patient's personalized 12-week home based exercise program will be enabled in the app after a baseline exercise specialist appointment and the 10-week nutrition program will be enabled at week 3 after a dietitian assessment in week 2. The home programs will auto-progress. Group 3 - An app-based, "personnel-intensive" approach. In addition to Group 2 features, patient interaction with Trainers will be via live group classes AND 1-to-1 sessions: seven 1-to-1 consultations with an exercise specialist and three 1-to-1 consultations with a dietitian to review progress and goals and make any necessary modifications to programming. OUTCOMES & ANALYSES: All analyses adhere to the intention-to-treat-principle (ITT). Fitness assessments and patient-reported outcomes will be collected at baseline and 12-weeks. Primary and secondary outcomes from these data will be analyzed using linear mixed models with random effects. Adherence and app acceptability (survey) will be compared between groups using the chi-square. Costs of each level of support will be compared with the cost of in-person programming using a publicly funded provincial payer perspective and will be presented in the Net Benefit framework. Interviews will be conducted with participants, caregivers, and program instructors to determine program acceptability and barriers and facilitators. Inductive content analysis will be used to analyze qualitative data.

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