A study looking at a new walking intervention for stroke survivors

INTERVENTION: Participants are randomly allocated to one of two groups. Brief written information group: This is an active control group, who will receive a postal written information leaflet about the importance of physical activity after stroke. The leaflet was created by the stroke association, and is titled: 'exercise and stroke.' Novel walking intervention group: This intervention encompasses a wide range of behaviour change techniques, to include: 1. Goal setting (outcomes): what are the patient's desired walking destinations? 2. Increasing positive affective attitudes to walking by discussing patient’s most valued benefits of walking 3. Increasing self‐efficacy for walking by focusing on patient’s previous successes at achieving goals and showing similar others who have successfully increase their walking 4. Increasing positive instrumental attitudes via printed information CONDITION: Topic: Stroke; Subtopic: Rehabilitation; Disease: Therapy type ; Nervous System Diseases ; Stroke PRIMARY OUTCOME: Eligibility rate is recorded during the telephone and face‐to‐face screening phase, by totalling the number of participants who were screened and identified as eligible/not eligible: the study inclusion and exclusion criteria, the Abbreviated Mental Test and the Timed ‘Up and Go’ test. SECONDARY OUTCOME: 1. Recruitment rate is recorded using details of the following participant contacts/correspondence, in which a potential participant:; 1.1. Does not wish to participate (to include any reason the individual provides regarding the basis for this decision); 1.2. Feels they no longer meet the inclusion/exclusion criteria (plus any further details the individual chooses to provide); 1.3. Has a query about the study; 1.4. Does wish to participate; 1.5. Letter returned to sender; 2. Retention rate is assessed throughout the study via recording date of attrition; 3. Missing data at each timepoint for both questionnaires and accelerometer data is assessed at baseline, week 12 and week 24 using SPSS; 4. Proportion of intended sessions of the novel intervention actually delivered is measured during weeks 0‐7 (intervention delivery period) on the intervention delivery log; 5. Extent to which the novel intervention is delivered as intended in each session (i.e. the walking coach discusses all the things specified in the intervention manual with the participant) is measured using the stroke impact scale at baseline, 12 and 24 weeks; 6. Standard deviation of social participation scale scores is measured using the stroke impact scale at baseline, 12 and 24 weeks; 7. Acceptability of the intervention from participants’ perspectives is measured using an interview at 24 weeks INCLUSION CRITERIA: 1. Aged > 18 years 2. Lives in Lambeth or Southwark 3. Discharged from hospital after stroke, and from formal, community‐based stroke rehabilitation 4. Completed 3‐month post stroke SLSR assessment 5. People who report walking outside for fifteen minutes at least once in the last 3 months on the version of the Frenchay Activities Index most recently completed as part of SLSR data collection 6. No known cognitive impairment at time sent invitation pack (Abbreviated Mental Test (AMT) score is 8/10 or greater at most recently completed SLSR data collection time point) 7. Not known to be living in a care home or other institution 8. Not taking part in any other research studies (apart from SLSR) 9. Able to walk outside their home and has done so for at least 15 minutes in the last 3 months 10. Able to understand spoken English to the level required to be able to actively participate in the intervention 11. Able to use a telephone and will