Spinal Cord Injury Virtual Coach RCT

Boston University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Spinal Cord Injuries

Treatments: Behavioral: SCI Virtual Coach

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02876666

324644 (Other Grant/Funding Number)

H-33729

Details and patient eligibility

About

The SCI Virtual Coach study has developed an on-screen, human-like character that will provide support, education and coaching to adults with spinal cord injury (SCI) to aid in the prevention of serious secondary conditions like pressure ulcers. In a randomized controlled trial, participants assigned to "the Coach" intervention will have a touch-screen computer placed in their homes and be asked to interact with the Coach on a daily basis for 2 months. Participants will be asked to complete surveys at baseline and 2 months.

The SCI Virtual Coach study aims to measure how accessible and usable participants feel the Coach is, as well as participants' adherence to the Coach's instructions. It will also gauge how effective the Coach is in changing self-care knowledge, health care behaviors, self-efficacy for self-care, and perception of social support in participants.

Enrollment: 40 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Self-report of physician-confirmed chronic spinal cord injury diagnosis
• Injured within the last 6 months -10 years
• Speaks and understands conversational English
• Lives within approximately 1 hour of Boston, MA

Exclusion criteria

• Moderate to severe cognitive impairment
• Expected to live less than 1 year

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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40 participants in 2 patient groups

Coach Intervention

Experimental group

Treatment:

Behavioral: SCI Virtual Coach

Usual Care

No Intervention group