Psychological assessment of patients with intermittent claudication
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Assessment of why patients with intermittent claudication do not engage with supervised exercise programmes (SEP) and investigation of what can be done to improve patient engagement.
IRAS ID
248754
Contact name
David R Lewis
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Intermittent claudication (IC) is cramp-like pain in the calves, thighs or buttocks that is brought on by exercise and relieved by rest. It is caused by “hardening of the arteries“ to the legs so that, on walking exercise, not enough blood is delivered to the muscles of the leg. IC affects up to 1 in 5 adults over the age of 60. The best first line treatment for IC is appropriate cardiovascular risk factor management and supervised walking exercise. Provision of supervised exercise programmes (SEPs) is variably throughout the UK. We have a SEP running throughout Gwent but patient engagement with SEPs is often suboptimal. We aim to find out what barriers prevent patients from completing SEPs and investigate if there are any interventions, in terms of patient support and encouragement, that might improve patient engagement.
REC name
Wales REC 3
REC reference
19/WA/0256
Date of REC Opinion
23 Dec 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion