Tele-rehabilitation following COVID-19
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A feasibility, randomised controlled trial of tele-rehabilitation following COVID-19.
IRAS ID
285205
Contact name
Michael Crooks
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a multidisciplinary program which is designed to improve physical and social performance and is typically provided for people with chronic lung conditions. PR courses typically last 6-12 weeks with patients attending classes once or twice weekly and consist of exercise and education components. PR is known to improve symptoms (e.g. breathlessness), quality of life and ability to exercise in those with lung conditions. Breathlessness is a very common symptom reported by people presenting to hospital with COVID-19 and deconditioning is common following critical illness. Using pulmonary rehabilitation as a model, we have developed a tele-rehabilitation programme (a programme that will be delivered using video link to overcome the challenges faced by social distancing and shielding advice) for people that have been critically ill with COVID-19. In order to prove whether people benefit from this tele-rehabilitation programme after being admitted to hospital following COVID-19 we would need to perform a large clinical trial. However, before doing this it is important for us to answer some key questions:
- How many people that have been admitted to hospital and needed intensive care treatment for COVID-19 are eligible for tele-rehabilitation?
- Is it possible to recruit to a trial of tele-rehabilitation after hospital discharge?
- Are people willing and able to perform tele-rehabilitation in their own home using video-link to connect with their therapist?
- Are there other rehabilitation needs that are commonly encountered by people following critical illness with COVID-19 that could be addressed by tele-rehabilitation?
We will perform a small study called a feasibility trial to answer these questions and gather some early information about possible benefits of tele-rehabilitation to inform the design of a definitive trial.
REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
20/IEC08/0017
Date of REC Opinion
3 Jul 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion