Self-Management App for Patients With Left-Ventricular Assist Devices

May 27, 2020 updated by: Jesus Casida, University of Michigan

A Preliminary Evaluation of Mobile Care App as Self-Management Tool in Patients With Left-Ventricular Assist Devices - Phase 2

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of VAD Care App in an out-patient mechanical circulatory support program. The specific aim for this pilot study is to obtain preliminary efficacy data of the VAD Care App as a self-management tool for patients with long-term LVADs. A randomized control trial will be employed to establish preliminary estimates of the effects of the App on the following outcomes: self-efficacy and adherence to the LVAD care regimen; LVAD-related complications and health care utilization [e.g., hospital re-admission]; overall health status and quality of life. The duration of the study is 6 months.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

About 250,000 of 5.8 million Americans are suffering from an advanced or end-stage heart failure. Generally, these individuals require a heart transplant or a mechanical circulatory support such as a left-ventricular assist device (LVAD). LVAD is implanted to liberate patients from crippling symptoms of heart failure, or in some cases avert imminent death. However, maintaining health and improving quality of life (QOL) depend on a "trouble-free" LVAD. Despite the refinement in circulatory support technology, many patients and their family caregivers still face challenges in managing the LVAD in home settings. The LVAD home-care regimen comprise of complex technical and non-technical tasks and procedures that must be implemented frequently and consistently. During the first 6 months following hospital discharge, patients/caregivers generally exhibit low levels of confidence (i.e., self-efficacy) in managing the tasks/procedures. This problem appears to contribute to low adherence to the regimen and poor outcomes. The current self-management processes include provision of instructional manuals and logs for vital signs, LVAD parameters, etc. To address this problem, the research team developed a mobile phone VAD Care App as a self-management tool. The app will aid and may ease patients/caregivers' problems in managing the complexity of the home-care regimen. The app offers patients/caregivers with (a) daily reminders about the tasks/procedures to be performed, (b) videoconferencing feature to communicate with healthcare providers about LVAD and health issues, and (c) on-line LVAD training/education. The prototype of the app was tested by 16 patients and caregivers. Results included ease of use and high acceptability and competency rates among users.The specific aim for the present study is to obtain preliminary efficacy data of the care app as self-management tool in patients with a long-term LVAD. This study will employ a randomized control trial to establish preliminary estimates of the effects of the care app on the following: self-efficacy and adherence to the LVAD home-care regimen; LVAD-related complications and healthcare utilizations; overall health status and QOL. A total of 40 patients (with caregivers) will be recruited. There will be 20 patients allocated in the control (usual care) and experimental (usual care + VAD Care App) groups. Data collection will be performed during pre-hospital discharge (baseline) and at 1, 3 and 6 months post discharge using self-administered questionnaires, chart reviews, interviews, and retrieval of historical data of the care app. Descriptive and inferential statistical procedures will be employed for data analysis. The outcome of this pilot will inform the next stages of investigations that are crucial for transforming LVAD self-management processes and improving outcomes.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
40

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Missouri
      • Saint Louis, Missouri, United States, 63108
        • Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University
    • Nebraska
      • Lincoln, Nebraska, United States, 68506
        • Bryan Heart
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10032
        • New York Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

21 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients: Recipient of second or third generation LVAD; minimum of 6th grade education; can read and understand the English Language; and to be discharged from the hospital within a week of enrollment
  • Caregivers: Designated as primary caregiver at home and a minimum of 6th grade education

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients and caregivers: Illiterate, blind, inability to use a mobile phone, cannot hear alarms, and/or evidence of cognitive impairment documented in the medical record or an abnormal results of a Mini Mental State Exam

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Control Group
Participants in the control group (20 LVAD patients) will receive usual care over 6 months. Usual care consists of routine clinic visits/follow-up at 1, 3, and 6 months post hospital discharge. A customary LVAD self-management/discharge education and training will be provided to patients and caregiver before hospital discharge and as need throughout the duration of the study. The control group will NOT receive the VAD Care App.
Other: Usual LVAD Care
Routine clinic follow-up visits over 6 months. Patients and caregivers will both receive self-management education post discharge and as needed throughout the duration of the study.
Experimental: Intervention Group
Participants in the experimental group (20 LVAD patients) will receive usual care plus VAD Care App. They will implement LVAD self-management as directed by VAD Care App. The app will be used daily by patients and/or caregivers for over 6 months. Their LVAD self-management competencies will be assessed at months 1 and 5 post hospital discharge with a review of LVAD self-management skills provided by the LVAD RN Coordinator.
Other: Usual LVAD Care
Routine clinic follow-up visits over 6 months. Patients and caregivers will both receive self-management education post discharge and as needed throughout the duration of the study.
Device: Mobile phone app (VAD Care App)
VAD Care App is a novel self-management tool being tested for patients with implantable LVADs. The app has daily "push notifications (alerts)," cues for daily self-management tasks, two-way communication using text messages and videoconferencing (virtual clinic), and links to LVAD self-management skills and videos easily accessible for self-management skill review.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Health-related Quality of Life
Time Frame: Baseline (T0), 1 month (T1), 3 (T2) months, and 6 months post hospital discharge.
Measured with the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire. A self-administered instrument consisting 23 items yielding a minimum and maximum values of 0 to 100 (overall summary score). Higher scores mean a better quality of life (i.e., a better outcome).
Baseline (T0), 1 month (T1), 3 (T2) months, and 6 months post hospital discharge.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Self-efficacy
Time Frame: Baseline (T0), 1 month (T1), 3 (T2) months, and 6 months post hospital discharge.
Measured with the LVAD Patient Self-Efficacy Scale. A self-administered instrument consisting 20 items with possible minimum and maximum values of 0 to 100 (standardized score). Higher scores mean a better self-efficacy (confidence) for managing daily LVAD care regimen (i.e., better outcome).
Baseline (T0), 1 month (T1), 3 (T2) months, and 6 months post hospital discharge.
Health Status
Time Frame: Baseline (T0), 1 month (T1), 3 (T2) months, and 6 months post hospital discharge.
Measured with PROMIS Global Health Short Form v1. This self-administered instrument consisted of 10 items with possible minimum and maximum values of 10 to 50 (sum scores). Higher sum scores mean a better health status (i.e., better outcome).
Baseline (T0), 1 month (T1), 3 (T2) months, and 6 months post hospital discharge.
Adherence
Time Frame: 1 month (T1), 3 months (T2), and 6 months (T3) post hosp discharge.
Measured with LVAD Patient Home Management Adherence Scale. This self-administered instrument consisted 9 items with possible minimum and maximum values of 0 to 100 (standardized score). Higher sum scores mean a better adherence to daily LVAD care (i.e., a better outcome)
1 month (T1), 3 months (T2), and 6 months (T3) post hosp discharge.
Complications
Time Frame: 1 month (T1), 3 months (T2), and 6 months (T3) post hosp discharge.
Number/frequency of complications were collected and recorded on an LVAD-related Complications Tracking Form. Data collections took place from day 0 to months 6 post hospital discharge. Minimum and maximum values were 0 to any possible values. Higher number of complications mean a worse outcome.
1 month (T1), 3 months (T2), and 6 months (T3) post hosp discharge.
Hospital Readmission
Time Frame: 1 month (T1), 3 months (T2), and 6 months (T3) post hosp discharge.
Number/frequency of unplanned hospitalizations were recorded on LVAD Hospital Readmission Form. All-cause of unplanned hospitalization/readmission were collected from day 0 to 6 months post hospital discharge.
1 month (T1), 3 months (T2), and 6 months (T3) post hosp discharge.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Michigan

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Washington University School of Medicine
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Jesus Casida, PhD, University of Michigan

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 30, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 30, 2019

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 1, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 4, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 9, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 10, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 16, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 27, 2020

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • HUM00092092
  • 1P20NR015331-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Data sharing will be made available for research to those who request it once analyses of specific aims have been conducted and findings have been published. All data will be de-identified. Persons interested in using the data will need to submit a request in writing, stating their intended use. Data will be made available at cost. Requirements for sharing will include acknowledgement in all publications of the funding source and of the study authors. Data sets will be accompanied by a data dictionary for all study variables, both derived and raw data. We will consider the most cost-effective means for sharing data after a data-sharing agreement has been reached. For example, data may be copied to a CD or DVD, be posted on a password protected and secure web site, or made available through a third party data archive service. We will also share research findings through publications and presentations at scholarly research meetings.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

September 2019 to 2021

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

As described in the data sharing plan above

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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