Lifestyle Medicine: Establishing Clinical Approaches to Chronic Disease for Rural Patients

Recruiting now · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Obesity, Hyperlipidemias, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Hypertension, Coronary Heart Disease, Heart Failure, Depression, Anxiety, Type II Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome

In brief

Developed nations worldwide are currently enduring a health crisis, as chronic diseases continue to decrease quality of life and promote additional disease states or even death for much of the population. Rural populations are at a particular disadvantage, as they lack access to health clubs, wellness programs and similar resources that are more available in urban areas. Although pharmaceutical therapies have continued to show therapeutic advancements, the rates of disease onset and death from chronic disease has not seen similar improvements, and in fact continue to worsen. Excitingly, significant evidence has been published demonstrating an affordable, effective treatment to directly treat and prevent these chronic diseases, but few have demonstrated successful implementation of this therapy, which is improved lifestyle. Specifically, physical activity and healthy body composition are powerful therapeutics that have been demonstrated to effectively combat and prevent chronic diseases. Additionally, improving these lifestyle factors are often more effective than pharmaceutical interventions without the wide range of side effects. Unfortunately, barriers exist on multiple tiers in the practice of family medicine that demote the implementation of lifestyle medicine. To better serve patients at risk of, or suffering from chronic disease, the investigators are seeking to establish a lifestyle medicine prescription program for rural West Virginia. This program will provide patient education on the benefits of physical activity, body composition, and help patients identify strategies to implement healthy lifestyle choices that can be sustainable for the long-term. Patients will be advised on local opportunities to increase physical activity (yoga studio, martial arts, fitness facilities, aquatic center, etc.) and provided access to the facilities they are most likely to adhere to regularly. They will also be provided training on exercise techniques, equipment, and facilities to increase familiarity and comfort in these settings.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT06049420
Run by: West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
People needed: 95
Starts: 2025-02-01
Expected to finish: 2027-09-01
Last updated by the study team: 2025-07-25

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 64. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

Program admittance will be restricted to patients with 2+ diagnosed diseases that have sufficient evidence for the efficacy of exercise therapy (obesity, hyperlipidemia, metabolic syndrome, polycystic ovarian syndrome, type II diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, heart failure, depression, anxiety)
physician referral required

You may not qualify if…

no chronic disease diagnosis, lack of physician referral, unwillingness to participate.

Where it is running

West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine — Lewisburg, West Virginia, United States (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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