The Physical ACtivity Enhancement Scheme (PACES) improves physical activity level and well-being in persons with...

To evaluate the effects of the Physical ACtivity Enhancement Scheme (PACES) on the physical activity levels and well-being of hemodialysis patients.

This is a single-blinded, two-arm, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial. Participants were recruited in September 2022 and randomly allocated to the intervention and control groups at a 1:1 ratio. The intervention group received a 3-month PACES intervention in addition to routine care, while the control group received only routine care. Baseline and post-intervention data were collected via electronic medical records and questionnaires. Daily step count was defined as the primary outcome, and other relevant indicators were set as secondary outcomes.

A total of fifty-three participants completed the study. Regarding the primary outcome, the intervention group obtained significant improvements in daily step count compared with the control group after intervention. In terms of secondary outcomes, the intervention group also showed clear advantages in perceptions of exercise benefits and barriers, exercise self-efficacy, utilization of social support, the effect of kidney disease, the burden of kidney disease, the physical component summary, and the mental component summary.

These findings suggest that the PACES intervention may improve physical activity level and other health-related outcomes among hemodialysis patients. Given the limitations of single-centre design and relatively small sample size, further multi-centre and large-scale studies are warranted to examine its potential generalizability. This intervention has potential clinical value for helping patients maintain health and improve overall well-being during dialysis treatment.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT05718765. Registered on 24 December 2022. Retrospectively registered.