Effect of a Motivational Intervention on Exercise Adherence After Cardiac Rehabilitation

Overview

The Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines recommend that adults should exercise for at least 150 minutes per week. Incorporating 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) a week has been associated with the prevention of at least 25 chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease. However, most people do not successfully maintain this active behavior. The primary objective of this investigation is to understand what predicts successful exercise adherence and why people dropout from the gym. The long-term impact of this study has implications for future policy level interventions aimed at exercise adherence.

The participants will receive a link to the baseline survey at www.surveymonkey.com. After completing the survey, the participants will be randomized into an intervention or a control group. The intervention group will be invited to attend a group meeting at weeks 1, 6 and 12 (3-month mark) which will take place at the EPIC center. These meetings will help participants create effective goals and methods on maintaining their motivation to exercise regularly. The participants will then receive a monthly phone call follow-up at months 4-6. The purpose of these meeting/follow-ups is to serve as a review of the worksheet, address any questions and help make any modification plans if necessary. Participants in the control group will be simply encouraged to exercise at the EPIC center and complete the online surveys. Participants in the control group will receive the skills/tactics at the end of the study. As members of the EPIC center, all participants will have access to four weekly supervised sesssions for three months.