Perception of the participants of diabetes college Brazil study concerning the adaptations made in the presential intervention to be delivered virtually during the covid-19 pandemic

Background: The pandemic situation of COVID-19 was announced in March 2020, triggering social distance and directly interfering in the diabetes self-management The pandemic created barriers also to scientific production, like a randomized clinical trial (RCT) College Brazil Study, a multicenter double-blinded with two parallel arms: The ExLE program (12 weeks of exercise and educational interventions, based on the Diabetes College curriculum) and Ex program (12 weeks of exercise intervention only) has been ongoing since January 2020 (NCT03914924) In the face of the importance of continuing the programs, the interventions were switched from in-person to being delivered virtually Videos containing home-based physical exercises and others with the educational content were prepared, uploaded on YouTube, and the links were sent to the participants by WhatsApp Besides, all participants were contacted once a week by phone calls following a structured script Objective: To access the RCT participant's perception about to receive the exercise and education intervention virtually Methods: The 37 participants who completed the 12 weeks of the intervention (Ex, n = 19;ExLE, n = 18 participants) were asked to complete an online questionnaire about their perception of the adaptations made to the program during the pandemic The questionnaire link was sent by WhatsApp Results: 22 answers were obtained (Ex = 12 (63%);ExLE = 10 (55%)) Most of the participants (86,4%) reported preferring in-person intervention, 21 participants (95%) reported no difficulty to receive the weekly follow-up calls, and 19 (86,3%) reported they were able to perform the exercises by themselves at home The main advantages found were: Ease of time to do the exercises prescribed (54 5%), other exercise options besides walking (31 8%), and not having to commute to the intervention place (27 3%) No participants from the ExLE group had difficulty learning the educational content, and the main reported advantage was the possibility to review this content (70%) and share it with the family (50%) Conclusion: Although the participants reported preferring the delivery intervention in person, most of them managed to do it virtually and overcame barriers such as lack of space, motivation, and routine organization The flexible schedule and absence of commuting were advantages of the virtual delivery, suggesting that this type of program delivery may be an alternative, even outside the pandemic situation Also, the family's participation in the educational process was considered favorable in the virtual delivery of the intervention