An acceptance-based healthy lifestyle programme for community-dwelling patients with pneumoconiosis: A waitlist pilot randomised controlled trial.

Abstract

Background: Respiratory symptoms such as cough and shortness of breath are prevalent among patients with pneumoconiosis. These symptoms reduce their engagement in daily activities and induce psychological distress.

Research question: Did a 6-week acceptance-based healthy lifestyle programme reduce psychological inflexibility (primary outcome) and enhance the health outcomes among community-dwelling patients with pneumoconiosis?

Study design and methods: A two-arm, prospective, multicenter, waitlist pilot randomised controlled trial was conducted. Patients with pneumoconiosis were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or waitlist group at a 1:1 ratio, with intervention group receiving the programme first. The intervention consisted of four biweekly interactive sessions on integrating acceptance-based components into pneumoconiosis management. Psychological inflexibility and health outcomes were assessed at baseline, Week 6, and Week 14 by trained research assistants. A generalized estimating equations model was used to examine the effects of the intervention effect between groups.

Results: Eighty patients were recruited and randomly assigned to the two groups. Compared to the waitlist group, the participants in the intervention group showed significant reduction in psychological inflexibility (β = -5.83, p = 0.002) and improvement in exercise self-efficacy (β = 11.68, p = 0.007) at Week 6, and reduction in body weight (β = -1.09, p < 0.001) at Week 14. No significant differences were observed for other outcomes. Moderate effect size was noted on the outcomes of psychological inflexibility and exercise self-efficacy at Week 6.

Conclusion: The integration of acceptance-based components into pneumoconiosis management may reduce psychological inflexibility and promote engagement in exercise.