Transplant Wellness Program (TWP)

Summary

Physical activity may be beneficial for patients who are preparing or recovering from organ
transplants. Performing physical activity prior to or after transplant surgery may help improve how well the surgery is tolerated, reduce the amount of time in hospital, aid in recovery, and improve overall physical and mental wellness.

The transplant wellness program (TWP) offers comprehensive wellness support for organ recipients to become more physically active before and after surgery. TWP will support wellness behaviour change, helping participants overcome barriers to physical activity through wellness behavior change coaching support as well as via participation in an exercise intervention (program).

If you consent to the TWP, you will be offered a 12-week exercise intervention supervised by a Clinical Exercise Physiologist (CEP) and wellness behavior change support. You can participate in the 12-week exercise intervention before or after your transplant surgery. We will also be offering TWP maintenance resources such as group exercise classes, group wellness behaviour change support, and educational webinars after the 12-week exercise intervention. Even if you choose not to participate in the exercise intervention, you will still have access to these additional TWP maintenance resources.

The purpose of this research study is to assess if the TWP exercise intervention and maintenance resources, including education and programs, will support wellness across physical (i.e., frailty, physical activity levels) and mental (i.e., depression, anxiety) health outcomes, and enhance the overall quality of life in transplant patients. We are also studying the association between the TWP (exercise intervention and maintenance resources) and markers of health care system use, such as number of hospital admissions and length of hospital stays.

Eligibility

Currently recruiting participants: Yes

Eligible ages: 18 to 100

Inclusion criteria:

1. 18 years of age or older.
2. Listed (active or temporarily inactive) or ready for listing on the transplant waiting list (kidney, liver)
3. Received a liver or lung transplant within the past 12 months.
4. Able to provide written informed consent and understand study information in English
5. Approval to exercise from CSEP-CEP (CSEP- CEP, Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology Clinical Exercise Physiologist)
6. Have access to an internet connected device with a camera

Exclusion criteria:

1. Not cleared for participation in the TWP by attending physician
2. Unable to provide informed consent
3. Clinical condition that makes the intervention unsafe or infeasible (e.g., unable to follow instruction due to refractory encephalopathy)
4. Unsafe environment for virtual participation
5. Recent variceal bleeding and cannot tolerate prophylaxis with non-selective beta blockers.

Participate

Fill out the following form if you want to participate in this research

Method of contact

UCalgary Notice of Collection
The University of Calgary (UCalgary) respects your privacy and is committed to ensuring the privacy of all students, staff, and community members. Your personal information is being collected under the authority of section 4(c) of the Protection of Privacy Act (POPA). It will be collected, used and disclosed for the purposes outlined in UCalgary’s Notice of Collection, Use and Disclosure of Personal Information and managed in accordance with UCalgary’s Privacy Management Program. Your personal information may be input into automated systems to generate content or make decisions, recommendations, or predictions. If you have questions regarding this notice or UCalgary’s collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information, please contact accessandprivacy@ucalgary.ca.

Additional information

Contact information

Recruitment is through healthcare provider (physician, registered nurse) referral only

Principal investigator:

Stefan Mustata

Clinical trial:

No

REB-ID:

REB23-0281