Cardiac Rehabilitation and Ongoing Physical Activity During COVID-19 (CODIS)

Cardiac Rehabilitation and Ongoing Physical Activity During the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study

The current Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in extraordinary public health orders of social distancing and self-isolation, leading to widespread disruption and discontinuation of cardiac rehabilitation programmes and other social opportunities for cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients to exercise. In Austria, the government initiated drastic public health measures (national lockdown) on March 16, 2020, leading to closure of all outpatient cardiac rehabilitation facilities and restriction of inpatient rehabilitation to patients with urgent medical indications only.

This study aims to explore the impact of COVID-19-related national lockdown and public health restrictions on cardiac rehabilitation patients, with respect to maintenance of physical activity for secondary CVD prevention.

The study poses three research questions, which will be addressed in a mixed-methods study with sequential quantitative-qualitative (QUANT-QUAL) design:

  1. What was the impact of the COVID-19-related lockdown on patients' physical activity and physical fitness levels? (QUANT stage)
  2. What was the patient experience of the closure of group-based cardiac rehabilitation training due to COVID-19 public health restrictions? (QUAL stage)
  3. Which insights and learning points may be drawn from patients' experiences during COVID-19 public health restrictions with respect to the provision of home-based digital support for physical activity? (QUAL stage)

The study will recruit a cohort of up to 40 cardiac rehabilitation patients from one outpatient cardiac rehabilitation centre in Salzburg, Austria, whose rehabilitation programme was interrupted by COVID-19 public health orders, including "lockdown".

Patients will undergo re-assessment of physical fitness in cycle ergometry test and re-assessment of cardiovascular risk profile. This will be compared with patients' most recent available test results from before the COVID-19 lockdown (i.e. prior to mid-March 2020) from patient records. Additionally, patients will take part in a semi-structured qualitative interview in which they will be invited to reflect on their personal experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown and thereafter.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

27

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

      • Salzburg, Austria, 5020
        • Institute of Sports Medicine, Prevention and Rehabilitation

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

N/A

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

A group of patients who regularly attended group-based cardiac rehabilitation exercise training at the study site until COVID-19 restrictions (national lockdown) came into force on 16th March 2020.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults (18 years and over)
  • Cardiovascular disease (CVD)
  • Currently enrolled in outpatient cardiac rehabilitation training at the study site
  • Informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Contraindications for cardiopulmonary exercise testing
  • Pathologies limiting exercise performance
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding
  • Limited German language

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Cardiac Rehabilitation
Participants will be recruited from a group of patients who regularly attended group-based cardiac rehabilitation exercise training at the study site until COVID-19 restrictions (national lockdown) came into force on 16th March 2020.
This study does not include an intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Work load (W)
Time Frame: up to 12 months
Maximal work load (W) achieved in cycle ergometry test
up to 12 months
Work load % of predicted value
Time Frame: up to 12 months
Maximal work load (W) achieved in cycle ergometry test expressed as percentage of predicted value
up to 12 months
Heart rate (bpm)
Time Frame: up to 12 months
Maximal heart rate (bpm) during cycle ergometry test
up to 12 months
Framingham Recurrent Coronary Heart Disease risk score
Time Frame: up to 12 months
Range 1% to 29%, higher percentage indicating worse risk estimate
up to 12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Metabolic Equivalent (MET) minutes / week
Time Frame: up to 12 months
MET-minutes/week calculated from patient self-report of physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire, IPAQ, 7 day version)
up to 12 months
Patient Experience
Time Frame: 5 months
Semi-structured qualitative interview
5 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Collaborators

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Stefan T Kulnik, PhD MRes, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Digital Health and Prevention

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)

July 14, 2020

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

October 24, 2020

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

October 24, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 29, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 5, 2020

First Posted (ACTUAL)

August 6, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ACTUAL)

January 6, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 15, 2021

Last Verified

December 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 23_CODIS

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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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