The feasibility of a cycling exercise programme for stroke survivors

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Feasibility of a community based cycling exercise programme in stroke survivors.

  • IRAS ID

    164029

  • Contact name

    Madeleine Grealy

  • Contact email

    m.grealy@strath.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University of Strathclyde

  • Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

    MREC N°, LR/14/ES/1080; UKCRN ID, 17583

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 5 months, 30 days

  • Research summary

    This project will assess the feasibility of a community-based cycling exercise programme to improve physical and psychological outcomes in stroke survivors. Stroke is the leading cause of disability in the UK, and the Scottish Stroke Care Audit National Report (2012) recorded 957 stroke discharges in 2011 from NHS Lanarkshire alone. With this growing population of people living with long-term disability, the stroke research priorities are shifting towards improving the quality of life of survivors.
    After discharge from in-patient care, the options for regular exercise for stroke survivors are often limited to local council funded facilities. This study will assess the feasibility (recruitment, retention, appropriateness, safety and acceptability) of a cycling exercise intervention programme, designed to run within existing local council services, for stroke survivors.
    The programme comprises an assessment session with a trained fitness instructor during which a tailored exercise programme is designed and agreed. Participants will then follow the programme using specialised equipment with support from the leisure centre staff (if required). Their experience will be assessed after eight weeks through a questionnaire and representative participants will be invited to participate in an interview. Participants will also be asked to complete a number of physical and health related measures when they start and after eight weeks. Fitness instructors who undertook the assessments and devised the exercise programmes will be interviewed within the first and last three months of the study.
    The appropriateness, safety and acceptability of the programme will be assessed from the questionnaires, interviews and focus groups and added to quantitative measures of recruitment, retention, adverse events and adherence.

  • REC name

    East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 1

  • REC reference

    14/ES/1080

  • Date of REC Opinion

    15 Oct 2014

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion