The PAC Project: Integrating a Physical Activity Counsellor in the Primary Health Care Team

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The Physical Activity Counselling (PAC) randomized controlled trial had as overall goal the establishment of a collaborative interdisciplinary primary care team to encourage physical activity. The main intervention was to integrate a physical activity counsellor to the primary care team so that the most appropriate care was given by the most appropriate provider. Much research has shown and many experts agree that patients need significant help to make and especially maintain physical activity behavior changes. Maintenance of these changes is essential for optimal health benefits. It was predicted that patients receiving both brief (2-4 minute) physical activity counselling from their family physician and intensive (3 month) physical activity counselling from an integrated physical activity counsellor (intensive counselling group) would report greater improvements in task motivation and task self-efficacy to engage in physical activity at the end of the intervention than those receiving only brief counselling (brief counselling group). The same was expected for both self-reported and objective physical activity. This RCT involved testing a theory-based counselling intervention, determining why the intervention was effective or ineffective by measuring key psychological mediating variables, using an objective measure to track changes in physical activity, and assessing physical and metabolic outcomes. This project represents an innovative theoretically based multi-level multi-intervention approach to promoting physical activity in primary care and is of great public health importance.

Detailed Description
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Family doctors and nurses (health care providers - HCP) recommend that their patients are physically active because this is one of the most important things that patients can do to benefit their health. The Physical Activity Counselling (PAC) randomized controlled trial examined what happens when a physical activity counsellor is added to the family health care team. For the project, HCPs did a brief, 2-4 minute counselling session with their patients who reported doing less than 150 minutes of physical activity a week. Half (59) of the patients in the PAC Project only received this brief counselling from their HCP (brief counselling group) while the other half (61) also received six sessions with the physical activity counsellor over a three month period (intensive counselling group). The purpose of the project was to compare these 2 groups. The HCPs and the PAC used the 7 As shared-care model for physical activity counselling in primary care (Fortier et al., 2006). The HCPs and the PAC tried to help the patients want to (be motivated to) and to feel able to (be confident that they can) increase their level of physical activity. A number of validated questionnaires as well as some interviews were used to look at the effects of the counselling on motivation, confidence and physical activity. As well patients wore wear a small gadget known as an accelerometer to measure their actual physical activity. Quality of life was measured in all patients. Some patients (one third) had physical and metabolic testing three times during the trial. The cost of adding a PAC to a family health care team was also assessed.

Official Title
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The PAC Project: Integrating a Physical Activity Counsellor in the Primary Health Care Team: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Conditions
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Physical Inactivity

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Intensive physical activity counselling by an integrated physical activity counsellor


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: aged 18 to 69 years <150 minutes of physical activity/week no uncontrolled medical conditions Exclusion Criteria: pregnancy (funder's request), planned absence >3 weeks during the first 3 months of the study, living with another patient in the study, uncontrolled medical condition, did not receive a physical activity prescription from their provider during the brief physical activity counselling, received brief counselling more than once during the trial period and uninterested in receiving intensive physical activity counselling

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 69 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Intervention/Treatment |
| --- |
|Behavioral: Intensive physical activity counselling by an integrated physical activity counsellor|nan|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| task motivation to engage in physical activity (0-100% motivated to engage in physical activity from 1-7 days a week in the next 6 weeks) |  | baseline, 6 weeks, 13 weeks, 19 weeks, 25 weeks | 
| task self-efficacy to engage in physical activity (0-100% confident to engage in physical activity from 1-7 days a week in the next 6 weeks), measured every 6 weeks up to 25 weeks for maintenance |  | baseline, 6 weeks, 13 weeks, 19 weeks, 25 weeks | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Physical activity (subjective: in units with the Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire) |  | baseline, 6 weeks, 13 weeks, 19 weeks, 25 weeks | 
| physical activity (objective: in activity counts by the Actical accelerometer) |  | baseline, 13 weeks, 25 weeks | 
| Quality of life |  | baseline, 13 weeks, 25 weeks | 
| Physical and metabolic outcomes (33% sample) |  | baseline, 13 weeks, 25 weeks | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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physical activity counselling, physical activity behavior change intervention, prevention, collaborative health care, physical inactivity, motivation, fitness, randomized controlled trial