Journal Article

V-CARE (Virtual Care After REsuscitation): Protocol for a Randomized Feasibility Study of a Virtual Psychoeducational Intervention After Cardiac Arrest—A STEPCARE Sub-Study

Bohm, Mattias, Skrifvars, Markus B., Jakobsen, Janus C., Keeble, Thomas R., Dankiewicz, Josef, White, Judith, Pareek, Nilesh, Nordström, Erik Blennow, Töniste, Dorit, Wise, Matt P., Maccaroni, Maria, Hopkins, Philip, Mion, Marco, Gorgoraptis, Nikos, Lilja, Gisela, Swindell, Paul, Keenan, Meadbh, Nielsen, Niklas, Heimburg, Katarina

2025

Overview

Background: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors and their relatives may face challenges following hospital discharge, relating to mood, cognition, and returning to normal day-to-day activities. Identified research gaps include a lack of knowledge around what type of intervention is needed to best navigate recovery. In this study, we investigate the feasibility and patient acceptability of a new virtual psychoeducational group intervention for OHCA survivors and their relatives and compare it to a control group receiving a digital information booklet. Methods: V-CARE is a comparative, single-blind randomized pilot trial including participants at selected sites of the STEPCARE trial, in the United Kingdom and Sweden. Inclusion criteria are a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) ≤ 3 at 30-day follow-up; no diagnosis of dementia; and not experiencing an acute psychiatric episode. One caregiver per patient is invited to participate optionally. The intervention group in V-CARE receives four semi-structured, one-hour-long, psychoeducational sessions delivered remotely via video call by a trained clinician once a week, 2–3 months after hospital discharge. The sessions cover understanding cardiac arrest; coping with fatigue and memory problems; managing low mood and anxiety; and returning to daily life. The control group receives an information booklet focused on fatigue, memory/cognitive problems, mental health, and practical coping strategies. Results: Primary: feasibility (number of patients consented) and acceptability (retention rate); secondary: satisfaction with care (Client Satisfaction Questionnaire 8 item), self-management skills (Self-Management Assessment Scale) and, where available, health-related outcomes assessed in the STEPCARE Extended Follow-up sub-study including cognition, fatigue, mood, quality of life, and return to work. Conclusions: If preliminary insights from the V-CARE trial suggest the intervention to be feasible and acceptable, the results will be used to design a larger trial aimed at informing future interventions to support OHCA recovery.

• Publisher: MDPI AG,MDPI
• Subject: Anesthesia / Anxiety / Applied Psychology (including Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy) / Cardiac arrest / Cardiac patients / Cardiology and Cardiovascular Disease / Care and treatment / Clinical Medicine / Cognitive ability / Continuum of care / Evidence / Focus groups / Health Sciences / Hospitals / Hälsovetenskap / Intervention / Kardiologi och kardiovaskulära sjukdomar / Klinisk medicin / Medical and Health Sciences / Medicin och hälsovetenskap / Mental depression / Methods / Patient education / Patients / Post traumatic stress disorder / Protocol / Psychological aspects / Psychology / Psykologi / Quality of life / Rehabilitation / Rehabilitation Medicine / Rehabiliteringsmedicin / Samhällsvetenskap / Social Sciences / Systematic review / Technology application / Telemedicine / Tillämpad psykologi (Här ingår: Klinisk psykologi, psykoterapi)