Cardiac Arrest Recovery Enablement and Supported Self-management (CARESS): a study protocol for the feasibility testing of an online psychosocial and exercise rehabilitation programme for cardiac arrest survivors and co-survivors
Pearson, N A McGregor, G Sandhu, H Couper, K Bruce, J Swindell, P Menzies, S Ellard, D R Kandiyali, R Ennis, S
Pearson, N A
McGregor, G
Sandhu, H
Couper, K
Bruce, J
Swindell, P
Menzies, S
Ellard, D R
Kandiyali, R
Ennis, S
Abstract
Aim: Little is known about how best to deliver support for the long-term recovery of cardiac arrest survivors, their family and close friends (co-survivors), or whether providing structured support is feasible. Working collaboratively, we have co-produced two online psychosocial and exercise rehabilitation care pathways for adult survivors and co-survivors - the Cardiac Arrest Recovery Enablement and Supported Self-management (CARESS) intervention. This study assesses the feasibility and acceptability of patient identification, recruitment, intervention delivery and outcomes assessment.
Method: A single arm, multi-centre feasibility study with an embedded process evaluation. We will test the acceptability and delivery of a new rehabilitation intervention in the NHS setting. We will recruit 30 cardiac arrest survivors discharged to home, and 30 co-survivors. The CARESS rehabilitation intervention consists of three components delivered in real-time by video-call:1.One-to-one consultation with a CARESS facilitator (week 1): a one-hour conversation to discuss motivation and set goals.2.Facilitator-led group support sessions (weeks 2-8; 1-h): provided weekly, separately for survivors or co-survivors to develop their knowledge, skills, understanding and establish connections with peers.3.Supervised group exercise rehabilitation sessions (weeks 3-8; up to 45 min): provided weekly, for survivors to build confidence and fitness. Recruitment, retention, and completion of outcome measures will be evaluated. Exploratory outcomes will include health-related quality of life (PROPr 29+2), emotional wellbeing (HADS, WEMWBS), and fatigue (FACIT-f), measured at baseline (week 0) and post-intervention (week 11) to assess suitability for a randomised controlled trial. Interviews to explore participant and facilitator perspectives will inform the process evaluation.
Discussion: This study assesses the feasibility of online delivery and findings will inform a future multi-centre randomised trial
MIDER Authors
Date
2026-02-12
Type
Article
Subject
Heart arrest, Recovery of function, Survivorship, Survivors, Rehabilitation
Collections
Citation
Pearson NA, McGregor G, Sandhu H, Couper K, Bruce J, Swindell P, Menzies S, Ellard DR, Kandiyali R, Ennis S, Patel S, Hossain A, Haywood KL; CARESS Team. Cardiac Arrest Recovery Enablement and Supported Self-management (CARESS): a study protocol for the feasibility testing of an online psychosocial and exercise rehabilitation programme for cardiac arrest survivors and co-survivors. Resusc Plus. 2026 Feb 12;28:101270. doi: 10.1016/j.resplu.2026.101270.
Journal / Source Title
Resuscitation Plus
DOI
10.1016/j.resplu.2026.101270
PMID
41798902
Publisher
Elsevier
Publisher’s URL
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/resuscitation-plus