Tele-rehabilitation for patients who have been hospitalised with Covid-19: a mixed-methods feasibility trial protocol

Abstract Background: Tele-rehabilitation has been proposed as a post-hospitalisation rehabilitation pathway for Covid-19 survivors, however patients’ willingness and ability to engage with this online intervention remains unknown. Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine the feasibility of tele-rehabilitation in this population, specifically with regards to recruitment, intervention acceptability and adherence, data quality and primary outcome measure selection. Methods: A protocol for a single centre, fast-track (wait-list), randomised mixed-methods, feasibility trial of tele-rehabilitation for patients that have been hospitalised with Covid-19 is presented. The tele-rehabilitation programme is based on pulmonary rehabilitation principles and will encompass an initial assessment followed by twice-weekly exercise classes and education sessions for 6 weeks. Six educational sessions on the topics of rehabilitation from Covid-19; coping with breathlessness; exercise; nutrition; return to work; and fatigue management will be delivered by a multi-disciplinary team of healthcare professionals. A series of feasibility, clinical and safety outcomes will be quantitively described and patient experiences and opinions explored using thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews. Discussion: We anticipate that results from the study will inform a multi-centre randomised controlled trial for post-Covid-19 tele-rehabilitation and the results from the qualitative analysis may provide guidance to improve participant experience.