Table 1

Participant activities and study contact

Participant activities
Home visits after discharge (weeks)a



1 (baseline)
3
6
8 (short term)
26 (long term)

Outcome assessment: control and intervention groups





     Health-related quality of life (SF-36)
Visit 1
-
-
Visit 5
Visit 6
     Physical endurance (6 MWT/Borg)
Visit 1
-
-
Visit 5
Visit 6
     Psychological status (DASS/IES)
Visit 1
-
-
Visit 5
Visit 6

Intervention group





     Strength training
Visit 2
Visit 3
Visit 4
-
-
     Endurance training
Visit 2
Visit 3
Visit 4
-
-

a Visits 1, 5 and 6 are conducted by an assessor blinded to the study group; visits 2, 3 and 4 are conducted by a 'trainer' not involved in assessment, with follow up phone calls during weeks 2, 3, 5, 7 and 8 of the programme.

Borg, modified Borg Scale; DASS, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale; IES, Impact of Events Scale; 6 MWT, 6 min walk test; SF-36, Short-Form-36 version 2.

Elliott et al. Critical Care 2006 10:R90   doi:10.1186/cc4949