Together in Movement and Exercise (TIME) at Home: a 4-Site Randomized Trial

Full Project Title

Increasing access to community-based task-oriented exercise programs through healthcare-recreation partnerships to improve function for people with balance and mobility limitations: A multi-site randomized controlled trial

Trial Registration: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT06245135

Background

Virtual delivery of community exercise programs using platforms like Zoom can help overcome challenges related to transportation, cost, and human resources, with attending and delivering in-person programs.

Objectives

In this study we are evaluating the short-term effects of an 8-week, virtual, group-based, task-oriented, community exercise program (TIME at Home) compared to a waitlist control on improving everyday function (primary outcome), mobility, reliance on walking aids, well-being, caregiver assistance, caregiver mood, and caregiver confidence in care-recipient balance (secondary outcomes) in community-dwelling adults with mobility limitations.

Methods

We are conducting a randomized controlled trial with an embedded qualitative component in four urban Canadian communities. We have stratified 175 individuals by site, participant type (participating on own or with a partner), and mobility level, and randomized them to either the TIME at Home exercise program or a wait list control group that receives TIME at Home at the end of the study. We also recruited caregivers. Evaluations occur at 0, 2, and 5 months. Data analysis to describe the process of the study and address primary and secondary objectives is ongoing.

Team Members

Principal Investigators

Nancy Salbach, University of Toronto (Nominated PI)
Mark Bayley, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network
Allyson Jones, University of Alberta
Ruth Barclay, University of Manitoba
Robert Teasell, Western University,
Heidi Sveistrup, University of Ottawa
Joyce Fung, McGill University

Co-investigators

Lisa Sheehy, Bruyère Health Research Institute
Elizabeth Inness, University of Toronto
Rahim Moineddin, University of Toronto
Jill Cameron, University of Toronto
Sarah Munce, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Bloorview Research Institute
Jennifer O’Neil, University of Ottawa
Susan Jaglal, University of Toronto
Gayatri Aravind, Research Institute for Aging
Tai-Te Su, National Taiwan University
Susan Hunter, Western University
Brian Chan, University Health Network

Knowledge Users

Margot Catizzone, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network
Nina Hovanec, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network
Heather Hanson, Provincial Seniors Health and Continuing Care, Alberta Health Services
Nancy Cox, Centre intégré universitaire santé & service sociaux, Ouest-de-l'Ile-Montreal
Jeanette Edwards, Shared Health Manitoba

Partners

Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network
March of Dimes Canada
Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada

Sponsors/Funding

Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Knowledge Translation

Inness EL, Koussiouris A, Kaur N, Catizzone M, Tse D, Aravind G, O’Neil J, Sheehy L, Fung J, Jones CA, Sveistrup H, Salbach NM. A theory-based approach to adapting a task-oriented community exercise program for virtual delivery for people with balance and mobility limitations. Physiotherapy Canada. 2025. Available from: doi:10.3138/ptc-2024-0030.
Dos Santos RB, Kaur N, Nelson M, Catizzone M, Sheehy L, Munce S, Inness EL, Salbach NM. Feasibility, safety, and potential benefit of a virtual, community-based, task-oriented exercise program (TIME^TM at Home) for people with balance and mobility limitations: A pre-post feasibility study. Disability and Rehabilitation. 2026;48(2):450-469, Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2025.2538757.
Salbach NM, Jones CA, Barclay R, Sveistrup H, Sheehy L, Bayley MT, Inness EL, Legasto-Mulvale JM, dos Santos RB, Fung J, Moineddin R, Teasell RW, Catizzone M, Hovanec N, Cameron JI, Munce S, O’Neil J, Jaglal SB, Aravind G, Su T, Hanson HM. Short-term effects of a virtual, community-based, task-oriented group exercise programme incorporating a healthcare-community partnership compared to a waitlist control on increasing everyday function among adults with mobility limitations: protocol for the TIME^TM at Home randomized controlled trial. 2025;15:e102694. BMJ Open. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2025-102694.
Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Module. The goal of this module is to help providers of community exercise programs learn about Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) and how to apply these principles to the delivery of community exercise programs. Authors: Renato Barbosa dos Santos, Margot Catizzone, Nina Hovanec, Susan Jaglal, Chavon Niles, Nancy Salbach, Hardeep Singh.