A study looking at a new walking intervention for stroke survivors
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A feasibility study of a psychologically-informed, community-based walking intervention for stroke survivors
IRAS ID
163287
Contact name
Chris McKevitt
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 2 days
Research summary
The aim of this study is to find out whether it is feasible to deliver a newly developed walking intervention for stroke survivors and to evaluate it using a randomised, controlled design. The intervention’s been adapted from a walking intervention for sedentary adults, based on the results of two previous studies with stroke survivors. It involves one-to-one sessions with a “walking coach,” helping people feel motivated to walk more and to fit walking into their daily lives.
We will invite stroke survivors who can walk at least a little outdoors and who live in the area covered by the South London Stroke Register to take part. We hope to recruit 40 people. Twenty will be randomly allocated to receive the new intervention, while the other twenty will receive a written physical activity information. Everyone will be asked to complete questionnaires at the start of the study, 12 weeks and six months later. They will also be asked to wear a device that measures their physical activity levels for seven days at the same times.
To find out whether it’s feasible to deliver the new intervention and evaluate it, we will look at several factors:
- What proportion of people invited to take part agree to participate?
- What proportion of people who start the study drop out before the end?
- Are there any difficulties collecting the data?
- To what extent does the walking coach delivering the intervention provide each session as intended?
- Do stroke survivors who receive the new intervention find it acceptable?
- What's the variability in scores (the "standard deviation") on the key outcome measure?If the results suggest that we can deliver and evaluate using these methods, we will apply for research funding for a bigger study to fully test the walking intervention's effectiveness.
REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/1566
Date of REC Opinion
10 Nov 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion