Social Convoy Palliative Care (Convoy-Pal) Mobile Health for Older Adults (ConvoyPal)

The Usability and Feasibility of Social Convoy Palliative Care (Convoy-Pal) Mobile Health for Older Adults

The aim of this study is to test the feasibility and usability of the Convoy-Pal mobile intervention among older adults. The study is a pilot waitlist control RCT with 40 patients and their convoys randomized to one of two arms: Convoy-Pal intervention or waitlist control. Feasibility will be assessed by recruitment, attrition, and data collection on measures of quality of life and social support. Usability will be captured by self-report usability scales and actual back end utilization data.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Chronic Conditions, Multiple
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Convoy-Pal

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 39
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Colorado
    • Aurora, Colorado, United States, 80045
      • University of Colorado

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 65 years and older (Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• ≥65 years of age
• self-report diagnosis of heart failure (HF)
• have multiple chronic conditions (MCC) based on the Disease Burden/Morbidity Assessment by Self-Report (Individuals will be eligible if they self-report the number of diagnosis > 2 and a disease burden score >2 indicating the presence of at least two chronic conditions that limit activities of daily of living)
• community dwelling in the United States
• English speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

• Self-reported diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or dementia
• Self-reported diagnosis of a severe mental health problem (e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder or other psychotic illness)
• Participation in community-based palliative care in the last 12 months

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Convoy-Pal Intervention; Intervention participants will be sent Convoy-Pal equipment and materials. The equipment can simply be removed from the box, plugged in, and turned on to start. Research staff will provide technical support as needed during the trial. Convoy-Pal is 12-week intervention that uses the Routinify platform to deliver self-management tools and palliative care resources in the participants' home. The platform includes a tablet, charging stand, and smart watch, with additional options for mobile phone access and a website portal.	Behavioral: Convoy-Pal; 12 week mobile self-management intervention with palliative care resources.
Active Comparator: Waitlist Control; Participants will complete baseline assessments and will be recontacted at 11 weeks to complete follow up assessments at week 12. Participants will receive a $25 gift card for each assessment ($50 total). If they would like to try the intervention at that time, we will send them Convoy-Pal equipment and materials. They will then have 12 weeks to use the tool.	Behavioral: Convoy-Pal; 12 week mobile self-management intervention with palliative care resources.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
User Mobile Application Rating Scale	Usability; 20 items; Range 0-25, Higher score indicates better usability	12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Colorado, Denver
• Collaborators: National Institute on Aging (NIA)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jennifer D Portz, PhD, MSW, University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 1, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 30, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): May 30, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 26, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 26, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): March 3, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): June 16, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 15, 2023
• Last Verified: June 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Disease Attributes; Chronic Disease; Multiple Chronic Conditions
• Other Study ID Numbers: 18-0973; K76AG059934 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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