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People with severe mental illness (SMI) engage in less physical activity (PA) and more sedentary behaviour (SB) than the general population, contributing to poorer physical health outcomes in this population. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a multi-component behaviour change intervention called Walking fOR Health (WORtH), delivered by community mental health teams, aimed at increasing PA and reducing SB compared with a one-off education session in people with SMI.
Feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT).
Study recruitment and intervention delivery took place within four community mental health teams in the UK and Ireland.
Eligible participants had a diagnosis of a SMI and no contraindications to participating in physical activity. Fifty-four participants (25 male, 29 female; mean age 51.6 years) were recruited.
Participants were randomised to the 13-week WORtH intervention, comprising education, activity tracking and health coaching or an education-only control.
Feasibility outcomes included recruitment, retention, adherence and acceptability. Clinical outcomes included device-measured (Axivity AX3) and self-reported PA and SB, body anthropometry, physical function and mental well-being.
This feasibility study met 90% target recruitment and 94% of participants provided follow-up data. Adherence to allocated intervention and engagement with all core intervention components was >80%. Qualitative feedback indicated high levels of satisfaction. Valid device-measured moderate-vigorous PA (MVPA), the intended primary outcome for a definitive trial, was obtained from 90% of participants at baseline and 75% of participants at post-intervention. Point estimates indicated a mean increase of 8.6 min/day of MVPA in the intervention group (baseline 54.7 min/day (95% CI 39.5 to 70.0); follow-up 63.3 min/day (95% CI 50.1 to 76.4)) and of 1.0 min/day in the control group (baseline 42.1 min/day (95% CI 24.6 to 59.6); follow-up 43.1 min/day (95% CI 29.6 to 56.5)).
The results of this study support the feasibility of the WORtH intervention in adults with SMI, and findings will be used to optimise the design of a definitive RCT.
by Caitlin D. October, Dzunisani P. Baloyi, Lario Viljoen, Rene Raad, Dillon T. Wademan, Megan Palmer, Juli Switala, Michaile G. Anthony, Karen Du Preez, Petra De Koker, Anneke C. Hesseling, Bronwyne Coetzee, Graeme Hoddinott
Children who are hospitalised for tuberculosis (TB) experience challenges that put them at risk of developing emotional, behavioural, and social difficulties. In this methodological paper, we showcase the development of a narrative intervention toolkit with key components of the resulting version 1.0 tool. The study design was participatory and pragmatic, with researchers working with the routine staff of TB hospital wards, children admitted and their caregivers, to iteratively understand and improve children’s experiences of hospitalisation. The project included three phases: (1) a situational analysis to map children and healthcare providers’ perspectives on priorities and potential intervention components, (2) co-development of a beta-version of the intervention, and (3) piloting and incremental refinement toward a version 1.0 of the intervention. The intervention toolkit combined a series of activities alongside the story of ‘Courageous Curly’ to facilitate children’s engagement with their own experiences of hospitalisation, including psychosocial and treatment challenges, captured, and described throughout data collection. We found that dividing the story into short chapters facilitated children’s engagement with the section of story that is being told on a specific day. Each chapter of the story follows/mimics a different stage children can expect during their treatment journey while hospitalised for TB care. Implementation and evaluation of such interventions can mitigate the psychosocial impact of TB in children and inform policies to improve their overall TB care.
FreshRSS 