Digital Health Physical Activity Program for Older Family Care Partners of Patents With Heart Failure
Heart Failure, Caregiver Burden
About this trial
This is an interventional supportive care trial for Heart Failure focused on measuring heart failure, older adults, family caregivers, digital health, physical activity
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria: Age greater than or equal to 60 years Involved in caring for a household member aged 60 years or older with the New York Heart Association Class II, III or IV HF Provide at least 10 hours/week of unpaid care for the past 6 months Physically able to engage in structured exercise such as walking, and upper body resistance exercises Engage in < 30 min of moderate-intensity exercise on fewer than 3 days per week over the past 6 months Able to read, speak, and comprehend 5th grade English Own a smartphone Reachable by telephone, text messaging, and email Exclusion Criteria: Medical or functional conditions precluding participation in the physical activity (PA) components of the intervention (e.g., inability to walk one block or climb stairs without chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness; history of falls; or serious or unstable cardiovascular or pulmonary disease) Cognitive impairment (Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status [TICS]52 score < 25) Inability to use technology Participation in a PA intervention in the previous 6 months Current participation in a PA or behavior change trial
Sites / Locations
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Experimental
Other
TPA4You group
Attention control group
Participants in the TPA4You group will be given an overview of the TPA4You program and PA exercise safety instructions. HF-FCPs will receive 28 PA sessions delivered by the coach over 12 weeks. The coached sessions will taper from 3 days/week (weeks 1-4) to 2 days/week (weeks 5-12) but exercise on 3 days/week will be recommended throughout. Participants will receive tailored motivational text messages every other day to encourage daily exercise and wearing the Fitbit.
Participants will be given booklets, provided by the NIA, AHA, and National Alliance for Caregiving that include content about self-care for FCPs' health and well-being, but not specific to PA or exercise. Participants will receive text messages every other day to encourage them to wear the Fitbit device, and to provide friendly greetings and reminders of upcoming survey data collection.