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Walking buddies: can volunteers keep hospital patients strong?

NCT ID NCT03888027

Prevention Sponsor: London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused This study
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Sep 17, 2026 · Last updated Sep 18, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

Hospital stays often leave patients weaker and more frail because they spend so much time in bed. Researchers are testing whether having trained volunteers walk with patients twice a day can prevent this decline. The trial enrolls 800 adults admitted to internal medicine wards who can walk on their own or with a cane or walker. The team compares patients who walk with volunteers against those who receive usual care, tracking readmissions, emergency visits, falls, and how long patients stay in the hospital.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
a walking program led by trained hospital volunteers
What this could lead to
If it works, hospitals could use trained volunteers to keep patients moving, which may reduce muscle loss, falls, and readmissions without adding work for nurses.
What could go wrong
The trial tests a behavioral program, so results depend on patients agreeing to walk and volunteers showing up reliably. Benefits seen in one hospital may not carry over to others, and walking may not be safe for every patient.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 800 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

May 2019

Expected to finish

Dec 2026

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Capable and appropriate for independent ambulation (with or without gait aids) as determined daily by the health care team 2. Cognitively safe for participation 3. Anticipated to remain hospitalized ≥48 hours 4. Inpatient, admitted to Internal Medicine at University Hospital 5. Age \>18 years Exclusion Criteria: 1. Preexisting condition precludes patient from independent ambulation at time of admission 2. Active medical condition precludes patient from safely participating 3. Preexisting condition or active medical condition renders patient unfit to participate as judged by the admitting team 4. Patients who refuse to participate or are unable to provide informed consent. 5. Communication barrier (due to hearing/vision impairment, or language barrier) 6. Patients receiving treatment from an LHSC inpatient Physiotherapist.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Frailty

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Deconditioning Early ambulation Frailty

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The places running it

    1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • LHSC-University Hospital

    London, Ontario, N6A 5A5, Canada

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