Home-based Digital-assisted Dyadic Tai Chi Training for Sedentary Adults with Heart Failure and Their Caregivers A Randomized Controlled Trial

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating the Home-based Digital-assisted Dyadic Tai Chi HDTC training program to improve functional capacity and cardiac function in sedentary individuals with chronic heart failure CHF. The study also aims to assess secondary outcomes like exercise self-efficacy, fear of activity, sedentary behavior, hospital admission, quality of life, and emotional well-being for both CHF individuals and their caregivers. This is a randomized controlled trial involving both patients and their caregivers to reduce care burden and improve mutual support. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups the HDTC group or the usual care group. Those in the usual care group receive a 30-minute online education and nurse-led telephone support covering symptom management, medication, diet, exercise, psychosocial support, and monthly follow-ups. The HDTC group receives all usual care plus a 30-minute educational seminar, a 1-hour dyadic coaching session, a preliminary Tai Chi training session, and a 12-week Tai Chi training program based on the 24-form Yang-style Tai Chi, with sessions increasing in frequency and duration and supplemented by online coaching and instructional videos. Participants and their caregivers will be assessed at the start, 4 weeks, and 12 weeks after starting the intervention. Data collected will include functional capacity, cardiac function, physical activity levels, psychological measures like depression and anxiety, quality of life, and mutuality between patient and caregiver. The study also tracks hospital admissions and care burden. Safety and progress will be monitored through regular evaluations, using statistical models to analyze changes over time. The total study duration from enrollment to final assessment spans 12 weeks.

Effect of the Home-based Digital-assisted Dyadic Tai Chi (HDTC) Training Program Among Sedentary Individuals With HF and Their Caregivers: a Randomized Controlled Trial