An Exercise and Wellness Behavior Change Program for Solid Organ Transplant: A Clinical Research Protocol for the Transplant Wellness Program
Jenna A. P. Sim, Maneka A. Perinpanayagam, Vanessa Bahry, Kathryn Wytsma-Fisher, Kelly W. Burak, Debra L. Isaac, Stefan Mustata, S. Nicole Culos-ReedBackground:
Exercise prehabilitation is an evidence-based, safe, and effective method to increase quality of life, physical fitness and function, and post-surgical outcomes in solid organ transplant (SOT) patients. However, few prehabilitation programs for SOT patients exist in practice. Furthermore, there is a lack of multimodal prehabilitation programs that include behavior change support. To address this need, the Transplant Wellness Program (TWP) was designed.
Objectives:
The objective of the TWP is to assess both the effectiveness and implementation of a comprehensive and multimodal exercise and wellness behavior change intervention for patients undergoing kidney or liver transplant.
Design:
The TWP is a hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial consisting of exercise and wellness behavior change support.
Patients:
Individuals who are in evaluation or listed for kidney or liver transplant in Southern Alberta, Canada.
Measurements:
The primary outcomes of self-reported exercise and quality of life are assessed at intake, post-exercise intervention, 6 months post-intake, 12 weeks post-transplant, and annually for 5 years after program completion. Functional fitness measures will be assessed at intake, post-exercise intervention, 12 weeks post-transplant, 6 months post-intake, and 1-year post-intake. The reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance (RE-AIM) framework is used to determine the impact of TWP at the individual and health care system level.
Methods:
Recruitment began in November 2023 and will continue until November 2028. Participants take part in a 12-week exercise intervention and are offered individualized and group behavior change support. Continued exercise support is offered through maintenance classes after the completion of the 12-week intervention.
Limitations:
The design of the hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial with a single experimental group will not allow for comparisons to a control or usual care group, potentially impacting internal validity. Differences in number of participants between organ groups (kidney vs liver) and cohorts (pre-transplant vs post-transplant) will likely be uneven, requiring consideration when running and interpreting analyses.
Conclusions:
The TWP aims to support patients throughout the transplant journey through a multimodal and comprehensive exercise and wellness behavior change program. Results from this study will determine the effectiveness of the program and inform future scale-up and sustainability.
Trial registry number:
NCT06367244.