WeChat group program to reduce social frailty in older adults with heart failure

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

This is a two-arm, single-blind randomized controlled trial that will randomize about 208 community-dwelling older adults with heart failure to either a 6-week interactive WeChat group program (SOCIAL_HF) or usual care with a self-study heart failure self-care manual. The SOCIAL_HF intervention includes weekly WeChat video meetings for peer sharing and collaborative tasks, daily health task check-ins, and online self-care resources. The trial includes a feasibility phase followed by a larger-scale RCT, with recruitment conducted via face-to-face screening at multiple hospitals in Shanghai and 1:1 random allocation. Primary outcomes focus on social frailty, while secondary outcomes include self-care ability, social participation, and perceived social support.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

1. 60 years old and above;
2. Live in the community;
3. a definitive diagnosis of heart failure based on the Framingham Heart Failure Diagnostic Criteria;
4. a diagnosis of heart failure for 6 months or longer;
5. evidence of social pre-frailty or frailty, determined by the SFS-8 score ≥ 2; (6) possession of a smartphone and experience using WeChat;

(7) be able to read and write Chinese.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. severe cognitive impairment or dementia;
2. known mental illnesses;
3. any communication barriers may hinder participation in SOCIAL\_HF, such as illiteracy, reading disabilities, speak local dialect only, and difficulties in language comprehension;
4. any sensory impairments that may affect learning or interaction with others on WeChat, including untreated severe hearing loss and vision impairments；
5. are currently participating in other intervention studies.

Where it's running

• Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Affiliated Songjiang Hospital
  Shanghai, China Recruiting
• Fudan University Affiliated Huadong Hospital
  Shanghai, China Not yet recruiting
• Shanghai Baoshan District Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital
  Shanghai, China Not yet recruiting

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Miao Miao, MN, RN — School of Nursing, University of Hong Kong
• Study coordinator: Miao Miao
• Email: marymiao@connect.hku.hk
• Phone: 852-51697980

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How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.