Introduction: Given the high prevalence of coronary heart disease among older adults and the aging of populations, there is a need for secondary prevention interventions to help older adults become more physically active. Web-based interventions could be considered for this purpose, knowing that Internet use is growing rapidly among older adults. In addition, since older adults would appreciate developing a trusting relationship with a healthcare professional, such as a nurse, web-based interventions should include this support, which is not widely observed in the literature.
The purpose of this study is to develop and evaluate a web-based nursing intervention aimed at increasing physical activity in people aged 65 years and older with coronary heart disease.
This study aims to answer the following questions:
1. What are the needs of older adults living with coronary heart disease in terms of a web-based nursing intervention to help them increase their level of physical activity?
2. What is the acceptability (content, structure, usefulness) and feasibility (recruitment, retention, adherence, fidelity) of a web-based nursing intervention to support older adults living with coronary heart disease as they increase their level of physical activity?
3. What are the preliminary effects of the web-based nursing intervention on the physical activity level and quality of life of older adults living with coronary heart disease?
4. What are the qualitative impacts of the web-based nursing intervention as perceived by older adults on their physical activity level, quality of life, motivation, knowledge and self-efficacy?
5. How can the preliminary effects of a web-based nursing intervention, developed in response to the needs of older adults living with coronary heart disease, be illustrated by its impacts as perceived by older adults post-intervention?
Method: This study will be conducted in two phases. Phase 1 will focus on developing the intervention according to the Intervention Mapping framework, in collaboration with a team of healthcare professionals and based on the needs of older adults. In Phase 2, we will evaluate the intervention through a pilot study with a sequential explanatory design. First, a single group pre-post test will be used to assess the intervention's preliminary effects on physical activity (electronic questionnaire), quality of life (SF-36 questionnaire), knowledge (quiz), motivation and self-efficacy (visual analog scale) of 30 older adults living with coronary heart disease, as well as the feasibility of the intervention. Second, a descriptive qualitative design will employ semi-structured interviews to assess the impacts of the intervention as perceived by 8 to 12 older adults who participated in the intervention, as well as its acceptability. Non-parametric statistics and a thematic analysis will be produced. Lastly, a joint display will be used to integrate mixed data.
Discussion: The results of this study will provide insight into the development and preliminary evaluation of a web-based nursing intervention to support older adults living with coronary heart disease as they increase their physical activity levels.
