Heron, N, Kee, F, Mant, J, Reilly, PM, Cupples, M, Tully, M and Donnelly, M (2017) Stroke Prevention Rehabilitation Intervention Trial of Exercise (SPRITE) - a randomised feasibility study. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, 17 (1). ISSN 1471-2261

[thumbnail of N Heron - Stroke prevention rehabilitation....pdf]
Preview
Text
N Heron - Stroke prevention rehabilitation....pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Background
The value of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) after a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or minor stroke is untested despite these conditions sharing similar pathology and risk factors to coronary heart disease. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a trial of an adapted home-based CR programme, ‘The Healthy Brain Rehabilitation Manual’, for patients following a TIA/minor stroke, participants’ views on the intervention and, to identify the behaviour change techniques (BCTs) used.

Methods
Clinicians were asked to identify patients attending the Ulster Hospital, Belfast within 4 weeks of a first TIA or minor stroke. Those who agreed to participate underwent assessments of physical fitness, cardiovascular risk, quality of life and mental health, before random allocation to: Group (1) standard/usual care; (2) rehabilitation manual or (3) manual plus pedometer. All participants received telephone support at 1 and 4 weeks, reassessment at 6 weeks and an invitation to a focus group exploring views regarding the study. Two trained review authors independently assessed the manual to identify the BCTs used.

Results
Twenty-eight patients were invited to participate, with 15 (10 men, 5 women; 9 TIA, 6 minor stroke; mean age 69 years) consenting and completing the study. Mean time to enrolment from the TIA/stroke was 20.5 days. Participants completed all assessment measures except VO2max testing, which all declined. The manual and telephone contact were viewed positively, as credible sources of advice. Pedometers were valued highly, particularly for goal-setting. Overall, 36 individual BCTs were used, the commonest being centred around setting goals and planning as well as social support.

Conclusion
Recruitment and retention rates suggest that a trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel home-based CR programme, implemented within 4 weeks of a first TIA/minor stroke is feasible. The commonest BCTs used within the manual revolve around goals, planning and social support, in keeping with UK national guidelines. The findings from this feasibility work have been used to further refine the next stage of the intervention’s development, a pilot study.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
Uncontrolled Keywords: TIA, Minor Stroke, Secondary cardiovascular prevention, Cardiac rehabilitation, SPRITE, 'The Healthy Brain Rehabilitation Manual', 'The Heart Manual'
Subjects: R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine
Divisions: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Primary Care Health Sciences
Depositing User: Symplectic
Date Deposited: 18 Feb 2019 14:42
Last Modified: 18 Mar 2019 15:15
URI: https://eprints.keele.ac.uk/id/eprint/5867

Actions (login required)

View Item
View Item