Under construction – not a live service
Sign in
Taking people in ChinaNo phase

Online group learning program to reduce social frailty in older adults with heart failure

Tests a WeChat group learning program in older people with heart failure.

Key facts

Who runs it
The University of Hong Kong
Where
Shanghai, ChinaSee the 3 sites
Trial code
Registry title
SOCIAL_HF: Improving Social Frailty Through Interactive Learning
Status
Recruiting
People taking part
208 people, planned
Started
15 Sept 2025
Expected to end
30 Sept 2027
Type of study
Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
Treatments tested
  • SOCIAL_HF
  • Self-study heart failure self-care manual
Record updated
15 October 2026

Who can take part

AI summary

From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.

The trial is looking for people aged 60 or older with heart failure who live in the community and show signs of social frailty. They need a smartphone and WeChat.

Age
60 years and older
Sex
All sexes
Disease stage
Heart failure diagnosed for 6 months or longer (Framingham criteria), with social pre-frailty or frailty (SFS-8 score of 2 or more)

Main reasons for not taking part

  • Severe cognitive impairment or dementia
  • Known mental illness
  • Communication barriers, such as illiteracy, reading disability or speaking only a local dialect
  • Untreated severe hearing loss or vision impairment
  • Currently taking part in another intervention study

The registry criteria, word for word

Show all 10 criteriaShow less

Who can take part

  • 60 years old and above
  • Live in the community
  • a definitive diagnosis of heart failure based on the Framingham Heart Failure Diagnostic Criteria
  • a diagnosis of heart failure for 6 months or longer
  • evidence of social pre-frailty or frailty, determined by the SFS-8 score ≥ 2; (6) possession of a smartphone and experience using WeChat; (7) be able to read and write Chinese

Who cannot take part

  • severe cognitive impairment or dementia
  • known mental illnesses
  • any communication barriers may hinder participation in SOCIAL_HF, such as illiteracy, reading disabilities, speak local dialect only, and difficulties in language comprehension
  • any sensory impairments that may affect learning or interaction with others on WeChat, including untreated severe hearing loss and vision impairments；
  • are currently participating in other intervention studies

Where in China

  • Fudan University Affiliated Huadong HospitalShanghai, ChinaContact: MiaoNot yet recruiting
  • Shanghai Baoshan District Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine HospitalShanghai, ChinaContact: LIUNot yet recruiting
  • Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Affiliated Songjiang HospitalShanghai, ChinaContact: MIAOTaking people

About the trial

What the trial wants to find out

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether the WeChat-based program "Social Optimization Chat for Interactive Learning for Heart Failure" (SOCIAL_HF) can improve social frailty in elderly patients with heart failure. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Read full original descriptionShow less

Can a 6-week WeChat online group interactive learning program (SOCIAL_HF) improve social frailty? Does the intervention enhance self-care abilities, social participation, and perceived social support? Researchers will compare SOCIAL_HF to usual care (self-study heart failure self-care manual) to assess whether SOCIAL_HF can improve social functioning.

Participants will:

Engage in weekly WeChat video meetings for six weeks (Participate in peer sharing and collaborative tasks).

Complete daily health task check-ins. Access online self-care resources.

The 2 groups in the trial

  • Usual careExisting treatment, for comparison

    One educational booklet

    Treatment: Self-study heart failure self-care manual

  • SOCIAL_HFTreatment being tested

    One educational booklet; one session per week, each lasting one hour, with two sessions in the final week, totaling seven online group sessions; daily 0.5-hour WeChat group chats, five days a week.

Questions to ask the study team

  1. How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
  2. Are travel costs paid?
  3. Can I keep my own doctor?
  4. What happens if I want to stop?

Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations

Print a page for my doctor

Data and sources

Registry record
Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Official title
The Effects of "Social Optimization Chat for Interactive Learning for Heart Failure" (SOCIAL_HF) on Improving Social Frailty: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Plain-language title
Online group learning program to reduce social frailty in older adults with heart failureGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 12 November 2026.
Record updated
15 October 2026