SOCIAL_HF: Improving Social Frailty Through Interactive Learning

NCT07234565 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: UW 25-387
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 208
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 3

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether the WeChat-based program "Social Optimization Chat for Interactive Learning for Heart Failure" (SOCIAL\_HF) can improve social frailty in elderly patients with heart failure. The main questions it aims to answer are: Can a 6-week WeChat online group interactive learning program (SOCIAL\_HF) improve social frailty? Does the intervention enhance self-care abilities, social participation, and perceived social support? Researchers will compare SOCIAL\_HF to usual care (self-study heart failure self-care manual) to assess whether SOCIAL\_HF can improve social functioning. Participants will: Engage in weekly WeChat video meetings for six weeks (Participate in peer sharing and collaborative tasks). Complete daily health task check-ins. Access online self-care resources.

Conditions

Heart Failure

Keywords

Social frailty; Heart Failure; WeChat-based; Interactive learning; Self-care; Social support; Social participation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Social frailty

  Social frailty will be assessed by using Social Frailty Scale-8 item developed by Pek in Singapore. It consists of eight questions covering whether they visit friends sometimes, seek advice from family and friends, have people they can trust, go out less frequently, eat alone, have financial difficulties, live alone, talk to someone every day. It uses a dichotomous scoring method with a total score ranging from 0 to 8 points. A score of 0-1 indicates social non-frailty (SNF), 2-3 indicates social pre-frailty (SPF), and ≥4 indicates social frailty (SF).

  Feasibility study phase: At enrollment and immediately post-intervention. During full RCT phase: At enrollment, immediately post-intervention and 3-month post-intervention.

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Perceived social support

  Feasibility study phase: At enrollment and immediately post-intervention. During full RCT phase: At enrollment, immediately post-intervention and 3-month post-intervention.

• Social participation

  Feasibility study phase: At enrollment and immediately post-intervention. During full RCT phase: At enrollment, immediately post-intervention and 3-month post-intervention.

• Self-care

  Feasibility study phase: At enrollment and immediately post-intervention. During full RCT phase: At enrollment, immediately post-intervention and 3-month post-intervention.

Other Outcomes (2)

• Feasibility indicators

  Recruitment Status: Assessed at baseline. Attendance Rate: Monitored during the intervention phase (from enrollment through the 6-week intervention period). Retention Rate: Through study completion, an average of 6 months.

• Appropriateness, practicality, and acceptability of the intervention measures

  Within two weeks after completion of the intervention

Study Arms (2)

Usual care

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

One educational booklet

Other: Self-study heart failure self-care manual

SOCIAL_HF

EXPERIMENTAL

One educational booklet; one session per week, each lasting one hour, with two sessions in the final week, totaling seven online group sessions; daily 0.5-hour WeChat group chats, five days a week.

Behavioral: SOCIAL_HF

Interventions

SOCIAL_HF BEHAVIORAL

Participants will engage in a 6-week, WeChat-based group learning program called SOCIAL\_HF, focused on heart failure self-care. This program comprises two key components: structured real-time interactive learning and ongoing synchronous support. Real-time interactive learning will be conducted through WeChat video group meetings weekly, featuring peer sharing, problem-solving collaborative tasks, health goal setting, progress sharing, and the establishment of group contracts. Daily synchronous chat interactions will revolve around completing group contract tasks, weekly quizzes, and daily sharing. Additionally, participants will have access to an online self-care resource hub on the WeChat platform for reference and use.

SOCIAL_HF

Self-study heart failure self-care manual OTHER

The control group will establish a WeChat connection with PI and receive standard care, which includes a health education manual. However, they will not participate in group learning or discussions. They can consult with research assistants via WeChat for any questions they may have, but the researchers will only provide explanations related to the health education manual and will not offer additional educational resources or group interactions.

Usual care

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 60 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• years old and above;
• Live in the community;
• a definitive diagnosis of heart failure based on the Framingham Heart Failure Diagnostic Criteria;
• a diagnosis of heart failure for 6 months or longer;
• evidence of social pre-frailty or frailty, determined by the SFS-8 score ≥ 2; (6) possession of a smartphone and experience using WeChat;
• (7) be able to read and write Chinese.

You may not qualify if:

• severe cognitive impairment or dementia;
• known mental illnesses;
• any communication barriers may hinder participation in SOCIAL\_HF, such as illiteracy, reading disabilities, speak local dialect only, and difficulties in language comprehension;
• any sensory impairments that may affect learning or interaction with others on WeChat, including untreated severe hearing loss and vision impairments；
• are currently participating in other intervention studies.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The University of Hong Kong: lead

Study Sites (3)

Fudan University Affiliated Huadong Hospital

Shanghai, China

NOT YET RECRUITING

Shanghai Baoshan District Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital

Shanghai, China

NOT YET RECRUITING

Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Affiliated Songjiang Hospital

Shanghai, China

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Heart Failure

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Heart Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases

Study Officials

• Miao Miao, MN, RN

  School of Nursing, University of Hong Kong

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Miao Miao

CONTACT

852-51697980; marymiao@connect.hku.hk

Doris Yu

CONTACT

852-62385037

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 21, 2025
• First Posted: November 18, 2025
• Study Start: September 15, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 30, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 30, 2027
• Last Updated: November 18, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL
• Time Frame: The individual participant data (IPD) that underlie the results reported in this article will be made available upon acceptance of the manuscript for publication. The data will be accessible for a minimum of 5 years from the date of publication.
• Access Criteria: The de-identified IPD will be available to researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal for use in achieving the goals of the approved proposal. Access requests will be reviewed by a designated data access committee (or by the corresponding author) to ensure the proposed use is scientifically valid and does not conflict with the original informed consent.

Locations

CN (3)