MedPath

Enhancing COVID Rehabilitation With Technology

Not Applicable
Active, not recruiting
Conditions
Covid19
Interventions
Behavioral: NexJ Connected Wellness
Other: Usual Care
Registration Number
NCT05019963
Lead Sponsor
University of Ottawa
Brief Summary

In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) a global pandemic. Ontario has confirmed more than 547,000 cases of COVID-19 since testing began. For many of these patients, symptoms resolve within 4 weeks of onset. However, it is becoming apparent that a significant number of individuals are experiencing symptoms that persist long after the acute infection, known as Long COVID. These individuals have a wide constellation of presenting symptoms, often varying from initial presentation. For this study, we will be enrolling individuals receiving care at The Ottawa Hospital for Long COVID. This study aims to determine the following four things: 1) will adding electronic case management improve quality of life three months after coming to hospital with Long COVID; 2) is the electronic case management platform cost effective; 3) is there any factors that predict outcomes at 3 months; 4) to determine how a personalized rehabilitation program supported by a digital platform could be implemented for individuals with Long COVID. We will enroll individuals from The Ottawa Hospital who will then be randomly assigned to receive either usual care or usual care plus electronic case management, through a platform called NexJ Connected Wellness. Participants will also complete questionnaires every 4 weeks for 3 months. We will be looking at quality of life, mental and physical health, cognitive symptoms, fatigue and pain.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
106
Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Electronic Case Management plus Usual CareNexJ Connected WellnessParticipants randomized to the experimental arm will receive assessment, investigation and management as the Active Comparator Arm plus access to an electronic case management platform - NexJ Connected Wellness (https://nexjhealth.com/) which complements the rehabilitation plan. This would include for example setting targets for activity that would be monitored with NexJ; educational materials; and support with medication adherence by reminders. The NexJ platform will include the following sections: Trusted Educational Content (Health Library); Symptom Tracking, Goal Setting, Community Forums and Reporting.
Electronic Case Management plus Usual CareUsual CareParticipants randomized to the experimental arm will receive assessment, investigation and management as the Active Comparator Arm plus access to an electronic case management platform - NexJ Connected Wellness (https://nexjhealth.com/) which complements the rehabilitation plan. This would include for example setting targets for activity that would be monitored with NexJ; educational materials; and support with medication adherence by reminders. The NexJ platform will include the following sections: Trusted Educational Content (Health Library); Symptom Tracking, Goal Setting, Community Forums and Reporting.
Usual CareUsual CareAssessment. Participants randomized to the control arm will be offered assessment by a clinician, guided by the WHO Post COVID-19 case report form. This is a clinical tool developed by WHO to guide and document the sequelae of COVID-19 and to ensure that clinical and rehabilitation needs are identified. Investigation. Clinician judgement will be used to decide on further testing needed for clinical care. Management. Control participants will receive a rehabilitation plan developed with their health professional that will be implemented in the eight weeks after their initial consultation (baseline visit). The implementation will involve face to face or virtual care from a registered health professional provided by the clinic or research staff. This may be a combination of, but not limited to, occupational therapy, physical therapy and/or social work/counselling. The frequency of treatment visits will depend on the individual treatment plan after assessment.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in WHODAS 2.0 scoreBaseline and Week 12

The WHODAS is the 36-item self report questionnaire measuring health and disability from the previous 30 days across six domains of functioning: cognition, mobility, self-care, getting along, life activities and participation. Responses are scored on a 5 point Likert scale: None (0), Mild (1), Moderate (2), Severe (3), and Extreme/Cannot Do (4). Change from baseline to week 12 will be measured as primary outcome.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
GAD-7Baseline, Week 4, Week8 and Week 12

A 7-item questionnaire that assesses the severity of anxiety symptoms experienced within the last two weeks.

PSQIBaseline, Week 4, Week8 and Week 12

The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index is a self-report questionnaire that assesses sleep quality in the previous month and takes 5-10 minutes to complete. It has been translated into over 50 languages.

PHQ-9Baseline, Week 4, Week8 and Week 12

A 9-item questionnaire that assesses the severity of depression symptoms experienced within the last two weeks. Participants are asked to rate each symptom of depression on a Likert scale from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day).

ASSISTBaseline

Alcohol and Substance Use: The ASSIST is a clinical interview collecting information regarding use of tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, amphetamine type stimulants, sedatives, hallucinogens, inhalants, opioids, and other drugs. Internal Consistency (Chronbach's alpha) was over 0.80 for the majority of domains and good concurrent validity

WHO Post-COVID CRFModule 1 will be administered at baseline only. Modules 2 and 3 will be administered at baseline and 12 weeks.

The WHO Post-COVID CRF will measure characteristics of COVID-19 infection and post-COVID symptoms including demographics, pregnancy, pre-COVID health status, and details about the acute COVID infection, vaccination status, occupational status, functioning, post-COVID symptoms, clinical tests and scales (including neurological, radiographic, blood tests, heart and lung function, mental health, function, and musculoskeletal tests) new diagnoses or complications related to COVID infection, and health service use, symptoms.

PCL-5Baseline, Week 4, Week8 and Week 12

A 20-item self-report measure that assesses the presence and severity of PTSD symptoms, corresponding with DSM-5 criteria for PTSD

Fatigue Numeric Rating ScaleBaseline, Week 4, Week8 and Week 12

A single item patient reported outcome, scored on a scale of 0-10.

Pain Numeric Rating ScaleBaseline, Week 4, Week8 and Week 12

The Pain Numeric Rating Scale will be used to assess pain intensity using a 0-10 ranking scale, where 0 represents "no pain" and 10 "unbearable pain".

Oral Trail Making Test A and BBaseline and Week 12

Used to evaluate executive function, visual attention and task switching in participants. During TMT A, participants will be asked to count down out louad as quickly as they can sequentially, starting at "1" until the end. During TMT B, participants will be asked to speak outloud, alternating between numbers and letters (e.g. 1-A-2-B etc).

EQ-5D-5LBaseline, Week 4, Week8 and Week 12

This is a 5-item questionnaire that assesses health-related quality of life, including mobility, self-care, ability to participate in one's usual activities, pain or discomfort, and anxiety or depression and a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) which asks participants to evaluate their overall health on a scale from 0-100.

Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R)Baseline and Week 12

The Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R) will be used to evaluate verbal learning and memory capabilities in participants33. The HVLT consists of a 12-item word list, composed of four words from each of three semantic categories.

Fatigue Severity ScaleBaseline, Week 4, Week8 and Week 12

The Fatigue Severity Scale is a 9-item self-report that measures the severity and functional impact of fatigue.

Digit Span subsetBaseline and Week 12

The Digit Span subset, a component of the Working Memory Index of the Weschler's Adult Intelligence Scale - 4th Edition (WAIS-IV), will be used to assess attention and working memory34. Participants will be read a series of numbers and then asked to recall the numbers to the examiner in order (forward span), in reverse order (backward span) and in sequence (sequence span).

MRC Dyspnoea ScaleBaseline, Week 4, Week8 and Week 12

A 5-item self report scale that evaluates statements of perceived breathlessness.

WEMWBSBaseline and Week 12

The Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) (short version) is a 7-item scale which measures multiple aspects of mental wellbeing.

Phonemic and Semantic Verbal Fluency (or Controlled Oral Word Association Test)Baseline and Week 12

The Phonemic and Semantic Verbal Fluency (or Controlled Oral Word Association Test) test will be used to assess verbal fluency. Participants will be given one minute to produce as many unique words as possible: 1) within a semantic category (category fluency for Animals); and 2) starting with a given letter (letter fluency for letters F, A and S).

AUDITBaseline

Alcohol use: The AUDIT questionnaire is designed to assess alcohol consumption, drinking behavior, adverse reactions, alcohol-related problems. Among those who were known to misuse alcohol, the AUDIT successfully detected an alcohol use disorder 99% of the time 53. The AUDIT-C is the first 3-items of the AUDIT and will be used as a screening questionnaire. Participants who score above 4 on the AUDIT-C will also be asked to complete the Full AUDIT (the additional seven questions).

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

🇨🇦

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved by MedPath