Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Jan 8, 2025
Date Accepted: Jul 25, 2025
Comparison of Telehealth and Onsite Supervised Maintenance Exercise Programs for Adults with Chronic Lung Disease: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Feasibility Trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Chronic lung disease (CLD), such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), interstitial lung disease, and chronic asthma, contributes significantly to the global burden of disease. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is an effective intervention for improving exercise capacity, quality of life, and reducing hospitalizations in individuals with CLD. However, benefits from PR quickly decline following discharge from traditional programs. Tele-rehabilitation (tele-rehab) has emerged as a potential solution for extending the benefits of PR, yet few studies have compared its efficacy with conventional onsite maintenance rehabilitation
Objective:
This pilot study aims to compare the effectiveness of an 8-week supervised maintenance rehabilitation program delivered either onsite or remotely via tele-rehab in patients with CLD. The primary outcomes include dyspnea, exercise capacity, physical function, physical activity, and quality of life measured post-intervention and at 1-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes include program adherence, emergency visits, unplanned physician visits, and adverse events.
Methods:
This randomized, assessor-blinded feasibility pilot trial will enroll 30 participants who have completed outpatient PR. Participants will be randomized into two groups: (1) tele-rehab, involving remotely supervised sessions conducted via videoconferencing, or (2) onsite maintenance rehabilitation with in-person sessions. Both groups will receive weekly supervised sessions for 8 weeks facilitated by licensed physical therapists. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, after the 8-week intervention, and at 1-month follow-up, involving face-to-face evaluations of outcomes such as physical function and quality of life.
Results:
The study will generate data comparing tele-rehab and onsite rehabilitation in terms of primary and secondary outcomes. Use data, such as program adherence and attrition, will also be reported. The results will inform the feasibility, adherence, and effectiveness of tele-rehab as a sustainable alternative to onsite maintenance rehabilitation.
Conclusions:
This study hypothesizes that both tele-rehab and onsite programs will significantly improve clinical outcomes, with tele-rehab yielding comparable benefits to onsite maintenance. Findings will provide evidence supporting accessible and sustainable maintenance rehabilitation options for patients with CLD and guide future large-scale efficacy trials. Clinical Trial: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT06304207
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.