Studies
| Study Title: | Prenatal and postpartum physical activity research priorities in women with multiple sclerosis: a Delphi study |
| Rationale: | In October 2018, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC)/Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) Canadian Guideline for Physical Activity throughout Pregnancy was released. The guideline recommends that all women without contraindications be physically active throughout pregnancy. MS is not considered a medial reason not to exercise during pregnancy, and current guidelines recommend exercise in non-pregnant individuals with MS. However, no studies have investigated physical activity during pregnancy in women diagnosed with MS. This study aims to identify prenatal physical activity research priorities among pregnant and non-pregnant women with MS. These data will be used to inform future research on prenatal physical activity for pregnant women with MS. |
| Study Description: | Why are we doing the study?
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system, which causes demyelination of axons, and largely affects women aged 20-40 years. However, knowledge gaps surrounding MS in pregnancy remain. Particularly, no research has examined exercise during pregnancy in women with MS. This study aims to identify research priorities among this population through community engaged research. This study aims to conduct a community engaged study where women with MS will identify prenatal and postpartum physical activity research topics they believe require investigation. What does the study involve? The study involves completing four rounds of 10-minute surveys. Each survey will be sent by email approximately 4-6 weeks after it is originally sent. Round 1: Women will identify prenatal and postpartum physical activity research topics by listing what they are interested in knowing about prenatal and postpartum physical activity. This survey will take 10-15 minutes to complete. The first round will be open for 4-6 weeks. Round 2: Women who responded to the first survey round will be sent the Round 2 survey. Participants will be presented with the research topics that were provide by women in round 1, and they will be asked to rank what they believe are they top 10 most important research topics. This survey will take 10-15 minutes to complete. The second round will be open for 3 weeks. Round 3: Women will be presented with the top 10 most selected research topics from Round 2, and they will be asked to rank the research topics in order of importance. Women will have opportunity to indicate if they agree with the selected top 10 research topics and identify topics they believe are missing. This survey will take 10-15 minutes to complete. The third round will be open for 3 weeks. Round 4: Women will be presented with the top 10 research topics listed in order of importance and will be asked if they agree or disagree with the order of importance. If a participant disagrees, they will be asked to re-rank categories in their preferred order. This survey will take 10-15 minutes to complete. The fourth round will be open for 3 weeks. What will the results gathered be used for? After all of the 4 rounds of survey are complete, the research team will identify what women with MS believe are the most important prenatal and postpartum research topics that should be investigated in the future. |
| Starting Dates: | 2021-02-01 |
| Ending Dates: | 2021-03-22 |
| Who can participate: | Any Ontario resident (aged 16+) who provides unpaid (voluntary) care/support for someone living at home with a long-term (>3 months) physical or mental health condition, or age-related decline. |
| Location of Trial: | University of Alberta |
| Contact Information: | Miranda Kimber mkimber@ualberta.ca |