Patients waiting for a lung transplant will test a digital health programme that uses a wearable activity tracker, an online platform, and remote health coaching to keep them moving while they wait. This matters because the wait for a donor lung can last months or years, and during that time, severe muscle weakness and breathlessness leave many patients largely sedentary. Face-to-face pulmonary rehabilitation programmes exist, but uptake is poor—especially among those sickest and most in need. No proven remote alternative currently exists for this group. If the trial shows the intervention is feasible and acceptable, it could lead to a larger multi-centre trial. Success would give transplant teams a practical, scalable tool to help patients maintain physical function and quality of life while on the waiting list, potentially improving their chances of a better outcome both before and after surgery. The study randomises 45 candidates (2:1) to either 12 weeks of the digital intervention or usual care, measuring recruitment, retention, adherence, and short-term clinical effects on activity levels, symptoms, and quality of life.
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Lung transplantation (LTx) is a surgical option for individuals with advanced lung disease. Due to the scarcity of available donor lungs and low lung utilisation rates, the demand for lung transplantation vastly exceeds the availability of donor lungs, resulting in extensive waiting times. The terminal stages of these conditions cause considerable respiratory and muscle dysfunction, resulting in disabling symptoms, which have a significant impact upon an individual’s physical function and quality of life. Adults waiting for LTx exhibit low levels of physical activity and significant deconditioning, which worsen waiting list and post-transplant outcomes. Whilst face-to-face pulmonary rehabilitation is recommended for LTx candidates, uptake and completion of these programmes is poor, particularly in those with greater disease severity. Therefore, remote interventions focused on changing physical activity behaviour are needed to support self-management and avoid waiting list deterioration. This project aims to determine the feasibility of a digital behaviour change intervention incorporating wearable technology, an interactive online platform and individualised health professional support. 45 LTx candidates will be randomised (2:1) to 12-weeks of the digital behaviour change intervention or usual care. Key objectives will be to assess: 1) recruitment and retention; 2) acceptability of the intervention and trial procedures; 3) intervention adherence and 4) compare the short-term clinical impact by measuring physical activity, quality of life, symptoms, and adverse events. This springboard award would allow this randomised, mixed methods, pilot feasibility trial to be conducted, which will inform the design, management, and delivery of a future multi-centre randomised controlled trial.
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