Recruiting

Exercise Program

Sponsor:

University of Pennsylvania

Code:

NCT07446296

Conditions

Chronic Kidney Disease 5D

Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 5

Kidney Failure

Kidney Failure,Chronic

Renal Insufficiency Chronic

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 60+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Exercise Rehabilitation Program with Physical Activity Tracker

Active control

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a home-based exercise program can be safely and feasibly used to improve physical activity and physical function in adults waiting for a kidney transplant. The study will also learn how acceptable and useful this program is for participants.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Can a remote exercise program be delivered successfully to people on the kidney transplant waiting list?
  • Do participants follow the exercise program and wear a physical activity tracker as asked?
  • Is the program safe and well tolerated?

Researchers will compare two groups to see if the exercise program leads to higher physical activity and better physical function:

  • Usual pre-transplant care with a physical activity tracker
  • Usual pre-transplant care plus an online exercise program

Participants will:

  • Wear a wrist activity tracker to measure daily physical activity
  • Complete a one-week baseline period before being assigned to a study group
  • Be randomly assigned (like flipping a coin) to one of two groups
  • If assigned to the exercise group, take part in online exercise classes at home for 12 weeks with reminders and feedback, and then another 12 weeks without reminders and feedback
  • Answer questionnaires about their health, activity, and experience in the study

This study may help researchers learn how to better support people waiting for kidney transplant through safe, home-based exercise programs.

Conditions

Chronic Kidney Disease 5D

Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 5

Kidney Failure

Kidney Failure,Chronic

Renal Insufficiency Chronic

Study ID

NCT07446296

Start date

Mar 24, 2026

Status verified date

May, 2026

Completion date

May, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Mar, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 60+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • be at least 60 years old
  • receive transplant care at Penn Medicine
  • be on the kidney transplant waiting list
  • speak and comprehend English
  • be able to walk
  • have at least one physical function limitation OR at least one frailty metric
  • have access to a device capable of connecting to the Internet and downloading an application
  • be able to provide written informed consent
  • be cleared for participant via the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PARQ) verified against medical record or via written medical clearance from a clinician

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Have had a myocardial infarction or a stroke in the 3 months immediately prior to enrollment
  • Be unable to self-monitor with study devices (i.e., have a condition such as dementia)
  • Not cleared by PARQ or receive written medical clearance to exercise
  • Participate in another physical activity study
  • Have any other reason they do not expect to be able to complete the study

Study Design

Enrollment

60 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Supportive Care

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

other: Usual Care with Physical Activity Tracker

Participants in this arm will continue to receive their usual pre-transplant care provided by the transplant center. In addition, participants will receive a wrist-worn physical activity tracker to measure daily activity, including step counts. Participants will be asked to wear the activity tracker throughout the study period, but they will not receive structured exercise programming or exercise-related coaching as part of the study.

experimental: Exercise Prehabilitation Program with Physical Activity Tracker

Participants in this arm will continue to receive their usual pre-transplant care and will also take part in a 12-week, home-based exercise prehabilitation program. Participants will receive a wrist-worn physical activity tracker and access to an online exercise platform designed for people with kidney disease. The program includes live and on-demand exercise classes that focus on light-to-moderate intensity aerobic and resistance exercises. Participants will be asked to complete at least two exercise classes per week. The intervention is delivered remotely, and participants will complete a brief virtual orientation before starting the program.

Interventions

Exercise Rehabilitation Program with Physical Activity Tracker

Participants in this arm will continue to receive their usual pre-transplant care and will also take part in a 12-week, home-based exercise prehabilitation program. Participants will receive a wrist-worn physical activity tracker and access to an online exercise platform designed for people with kidney disease. The program includes live and on-demand exercise classes that focus on light-to-moderate intensity aerobic and resistance exercises. Participants will be asked to complete at least two exercise classes per week. The intervention is delivered remotely, and participants will complete a brief virtual orientation before starting the program. The participants will receive reminders and feedback from the study team about their exercise and physical activity engagement. After the 12 week period, this group will be asked to continue to participate in the exercise program but without study reminders or feedback related to their exercise.

Active control

Participants continue standard pre-transplant care provided by the transplant center and to wear a wrist worn activity tracker to measure daily step counts/physical activity.

Primary outcome measure

  • Enrollment efficiency and Retention [ Time Frame: Enrollment efficiency time period is study duration (anticipate up to 20 moths) and retention is 12 weeks of intervention period ]
  • Acceptability of the Intervention [ Time Frame: 12-weeks after randomization ]
  • Adherence [ Time Frame: 12 weeks after randomization ]
  • Adverse Events Related to Intervention [ Time Frame: Up to 12 weeks after randomization ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Sarah Schrauben, MD, MSCE

2156628730sarahsch@upenn.edu

Locations

Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine

Recruiting

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104

Contacts

Sarah Schrauben, MD, MS

267-324-7588sarahsch@upenn.edu

More Information

Sponsor

University of Pennsylvania

Last update posted

May 6, 2026

Last verified

May, 2026

Keywords

  • kidney transplant candidates
  • prehabilitation
  • home-based exercise
  • physical activity program
  • kidney transplant waiting list
  • pre-transplant care
  • physical function

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-08. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Pennsylvania on 2026-05-06.