ENGAGE program shows feasibility and preliminary signal for participation after chronic stroke in pilot trial

BACKGROUND: Survivors of stroke report low levels of community and social participation, even years after stroke. ENGAGE is a community-based intervention that merges social learning, guided problem solving, and supervised practice to collaboratively identify, generate, and apply solutions to challenges with community and social participation after stroke. OBJECTIVE: We examined the feasibility, acceptability, and safety of ENGAGE and characterized within group changes in community and social participation outcomes. METHODS: Community-dwelling survivors of stroke, occupational therapy providers, and occupational therapy scientists partnered to co-design the essential and structural elements of ENGAGE, as well as to evaluate ENGAGE using a multi-site single-arm community-based phase 2a clinical trial design. The 6-week ENGAGE program was co-facilitated by survivors of stroke acting as peer mentors and occupational therapy provider through in-person (Phase I, 12 sessions) or virtual web conference meetings (Phase II, 9 sessions). Feasibility was assessed through participant retention, engagement, acceptability, satisfaction, and safety. Within group change was assessed through the PROMIS Ability to Participation in Social Roles and Activities Scale. RESULTS: Of the 42 participants providing consent, 38 were eligible, and 30 started the intervention program. Retention in the ENGAGE program was 90 % (n = 27). Of these, 85 % engaged actively, 87 % indicated very high satisfaction, and 0 % reported injuries or injurious falls. Participants achieved a medium within group effect size of change in community and social participation (d = 0.38, 95 % CI = -0.11, 0.94). CONCLUSIONS: ENGAGE appears to be a feasible and promising intervention to promote improvements in community and social participation in community-dwelling survivors of stroke.