Healthy Lifestyles After Stroke - Stroke Coach

A Telehealth Intervention to Promote Chronic Disease Management After Stroke: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Study

The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of a lifestyle modification telehealth program on health-related behaviours in community-dwelling individuals living with stroke.

Participants recruited in this study will be randomly assigned to either the Healthy Lifestyle Training Program, or Attention Control Memory Training Program.

Individuals in the Healthy Lifestyle Training Program will each receive 7 lifestyle coaching telephone-sessions (30-60 minutes) with a trained lifestyle coach over a 6 month period. Individuals in the Memory Training Program will each receive 7 memory coaching telephone sessions (30-60 minutes) with a trained memory training coach over a 6 month period. 100 evaluable subjects will be recruited (124 to accommodate for 20% dropout).

Inclusion Criteria:

• Has experienced a stroke in the last 12 months
• 50 years of age or older
• Living in the community with phone access
• Mild to moderate stroke severity (i.e., modified Rankin Scale score ranging from 1 to 4)
• Able to communicate in English

Exclusion Criteria:

• Stroke of non-vascular origin
• Actively engaged in formal stroke rehabilitation services
• Uncontrolled arrhythmias
• Significant musculoskeletal or other neurological condition
• Severe aphasia or dysarthria
• Not medically stable
• Pain or co-morbidities which would preclude activity
• Living in long-term residential care
• Cognitive impairment, dependent in activities of daily living, and no caregiver participation