An Approach to "Move a Little & Often" With Health Conditions

Overview

People with long term conditions such as diabetes and arthritis, and who also have depression spend a lot of time sedentary during the day. This is because they face many barriers to being active, such as pain and fatigue. Being sedentary is problematic because it is associated with poorer health in the long term. Common sedentary behaviours are watching television and using the computer; these behaviours are labelled as screen-based sedentary behaviours. An intervention to reduce these behaviours could improve mental and physical wellbeing. The aim of the study is to explore the acceptability of an intervention to "Move a Little and Often" in people with depression symptoms and long term conditions. The investigators will explore the intervention's acceptability using interviews and will examine if the intervention is associated with a reduction in time spent sedentary. Results will help refine the intervention further. The feasibility study is part of a PhD project funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) Greater Manchester

There is a growing focus in research on the need to reduce sedentary behaviours. Studies have shown that independently of moderate to vigorous physical activity, the amount of time spent sedentary predicts poorer health outcomes. This means that in addition to exercising, it is important to reduce prolonged periods of sedentary behaviours to improve health. For people with depression and long term conditions, milder forms of physical activity may be more appropriate due to higher levels of pain and fatigue resulting from exercise. Reducing sedentary behaviours by substituting them with mild physical activities such as walking is a potential avenue to improve health outcomes in this population group. To date, no intervention has been developed to reduce prolonged periods of sedentariness in people with depression and long term health conditions within the UK. This feasibility study aims to refine a behaviour change intervention to reduce sedentary time in this population group. The intervention has been developed through reviewing the literature on interventions to increase physical activity (a systematic review), an interview study to explore sedentary and physical activity behaviours within this population group, and through patient and public involvement.