Effects of an educational counselling on physical activity among psychiatric inpatients: results from a pilot study

Background Feasible interventions promoting active lifestyle need to be implemented in persons with psychiatric disorders, where high proportions are sedentary (Pearsall et al., 2014). This pilot study examined the effectiveness of a brief educational counselling intervention on physical activity (PA) in association with the standard treatment as a motivational strategy in psychiatric inpatients. Methods Inclusion criteria were to have a moderate to low level of psychopathology, absence of medical contraindications to exercise and of anorexia or addiction disorders, age range 18-65 years. Fifty inpatients consecutively admitted to a psychiatric hospital volunteered to participate in the study, and were randomly divided into two groups. A control group (CG) was involved in the standard multidimensional treatment during hospitalization (pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, exercise, nutritional regimen), an experimental group (EG) was involved in the standard treatment adding an educational counselling on PA benefits, barriers and facilitators, with cues to be more physically active. The intervention comprised a 4-hour educational counselling, administered one-hour per week in a group session. Participants completed a questionnaire package pre- and post-intervention including demographic information and the Situational Motivational Scale, the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale, the Decisional Balance Scale. Results Study retention was a problem, and final group consisted of 32 inpatients (CG = 21; EG = 11). At the baseline CG and EG reported similar values in all the investigated variables. After the intervention, no significant differences in motivation nor in enjoyment of PA were found between the CG and the EG. Discussion Probably the limited session number undertaken by the EG did not let considerable results on motivation to exercise. Moreover, the nature of the disorder may also affect patients\u2019 motivation as many individuals may be not ready to change their lifestyle. However, the reported experience calls for further integrative interventions, which are currently growing in mental health treatment. References Pearsall, R., Smith, D. J, Pelosi, A., & Geddes, J. (2014). Exercise therapy in adults with serious mental illness: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry, 14, 117