Cardiometabolic Health Intervention using Music and Exercise (CHIME) delivered Virtually to Wheelchair Users: Study Protocol for a Randomized Clinical Trial (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Wheelchair users (WCU) live predominantly sedentary lifestyles and have a substantially higher risk for cardiometabolic disease and mortality compared to people without disabilities. Exercise training has been found to be effective in improving cardiometabolic health outcomes among people without disabilities but research on WCU is limited and of poor quality. OBJECTIVE The primary aim of this study is to examine the immediate and sustained effects of a 24-week, telehealth Movement-to-Music (M2M-C) cardiovascular exercise program on core indicators of cardiometabolic health among adult WCU compared to an active control group. The secondary aim is to explore the beneficial effects of M2M-C on cardiovascular capacity, physical activity, and quality of life. Intervention components include tailored exercises and remote performance monitoring, delivered via live videoconference training by a telecoach and asynchronous videos. METHODS The study design is a parallel arm RCT enrolling 132 physically inactive adult WCU with poor cardiometabolic profiles. The M2M-C intervention group involves 24 weeks of virtual live and monitored home exercise training (3x/week, 15-40 min/session), followed by a 12-week maintenance period where participants have access to an online media library of exercise videos. The control group involves 36 weeks of self-guided exercise through access to a media library of exercise videos, including range of motion, muscle strength, and balance. RESULTS The primary outcome are cardiometabolic indicators of health and assessor are blinded. Recruitment procedures started in January 2024 with the first participant enrolled on March 18, 2024. All data are anticipated to be collected by November 2027, and the main results of the trial are anticipated to be published by February 2028. Secondary analyses of data will be subsequently published. CONCLUSIONS The knowledge obtained from this trial will provide evidence to inform exercise prescriptions aimed at improving cardiometabolic health among adult WCU. CLINICALTRIAL NCT05606432