Brazilian Version of an Intervention to Support Healthy Lifestyle Adoption Post-stroke - iVIDAVC

Introduction: Stroke presents a high global burden, particularly in low- and middle-income countries such as Brazil. Stroke secondary prevention, in which the adoption of healthy lifestyle behaviors is a key component, is an important strategy for reducing the global burden of stroke. Effective, evidence-based behavioral interventions are needed to support healthy lifestyle adoption after stroke. The "iHELP Stroke: Improving Health and Lifestyle Programme after Stroke", developed in Ireland, is a multimodal behavioral change intervention designed to support healthy lifestyle adoption after stroke. This intervention was adapted to the Brazilian context, following the ADAPT guidance, and was renamed iVIDAVC (Brazilian Portuguese: Intervenção para Melhorar a Saúde e o Estilo de Vida Pós-AVC; corresponding English title: Intervention to Improve Health and Lifestyle After Stroke). A phase I feasibility study of the adapted intervention was completed in July 2025. The next step is to conduct a pilot randomized clinical trial (RCT) to further assess the feasibility of the study procedures and intervention and to obtain preliminary estimates of clinical outcomes. Objective: To assess the feasibility of a pilot RCT of the iVIDAVC, a Brazilian version of a behavior change intervention to support the adoption of healthy lifestyle behaviors after stroke, and to explore its preliminary effects on goal attainment among individuals with stroke in Brazil. Methods: This is a prospective, pilot RCT (Phase II), with two parallel groups, 1:1 allocation, concealed allocation, and blinded outcome assessment. Twenty-four adults with a clinical diagnosis of stroke, living in the community and reporting the need to change at least one lifestyle-related behavior will be recruited in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and randomly allocated to an experimental group or a control group (12 participants per group). The experimental group will receive the iVIDAVC intervention, a Brazilian version of a beh