Effectiveness of a Brief Internet-delivered Behaviour Change Intervention Among Healthy Middle-aged Adults
Condition: Health Behavior
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Previous studies have demonstrated the need to move beyond the common misconception of
      midlife as a time of crisis so that further understandings of the midlife as a time of
      opportunity for the maintenance and improvement of health can be developed. Several
      psychosocial factors such as resilience, emotion regulation, perceived social support, and
      control beliefs have been identified as having a role in the adoption of healthier lifestyle
      habits in middle age which, in turn, may decrease the risk of a developing or worsening
      chronic disease. Several behaviour change interventions have also been proposed in the
      literature. As Canada's population ages, it is important that brief behaviour change
      interventions, and the psychosocial factors that facilitate such behaviour changes, be
      identified as a way to promote better health during the midlife years so as to improve the
      experience of aging. The present study is aimed at evaluating the influence of psychosocial
      factors on the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits. Specifically, this study aims to examine
      whether differing experiences of social support, resilience, emotion regulation, and control
      beliefs influence physical activity levels following a brief behaviour change intervention.
      Participants will be asked to complete a demographics questionnaire followed by a series of
      measures to determine the individual's perceived levels of social support, resilience,
      emotion regulation, and control beliefs. After completing this set of questionnaires,
      participants will be randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control condition.
      Participants in the experimental condition will be asked to complete the Brief Action
      Planning exercise as a way to identify a goal related to health behaviours. Participants in
      the control condition will be asked to identify a goal related to health behaviours without
      being introduced to the Brief Action Planning exercise. Two weeks and four weeks following
      this intervention, individuals will be asked to indicate the degree to which they were able
      to achieve their health goal. It is expected that individuals in the experimental condition
      will experience greater improvement in physical activity levels compared to individuals in
      the control condition. The investigators also anticipate that improvements in physical
      activity levels in the experimental condition will be influenced by the psychosocial factors
      of social support, resilience, emotion regulation, and control beliefs. The potential
      significance of this study includes increasing awareness of the influence of psychosocial
      factors on health behaviours and the possible effectiveness of a brief behaviour change
      intervention among middle-aged adults. Potential interventions may be used in clinical
      settings or community programs in which middle-aged adults engage.
    


Intervention name(s): Brief Action Planning Exercise; Goal Setting Exercise
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): The Brief Action Planning exercise is a previously developed goal-setting exercise which has been designed to incorporate aspects of motivational interviewing such as compassion, acceptance, evocation, and partnership. It is a tool that allows participants to identify an aspect of their life they would like to improve upon and guides them through the process of making a specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely (SMART) goal. It also assesses their confidence in achieving this goal so as to assist with making alternative plans if confidence is low.; The Goal Setting exercise allows participants to identify an aspect of their life they would like to improve upon without incorporating aspects of motivational interviewing components or providing any guidance on how to set this goal.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Physical Activity; Control Beliefs; Emotion Regulation; Resilience; Social Support