Promoting Physical Activity in People With Schizophrenia.

People with schizophrenia die approximately 20 years earlier than those in the general population, and this is mostly due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and related poor physical health. The risk factors for CVD are significantly more prevalent in people with schizophrenia, but they are largely preventable by, for example, engaging in regular PA. Existing interventions to increase PA in schizophrenia are generally atheoretical and lack manualisation and appropriate evaluation, thus reducing their usefulness to clinical practice.

Drawing on the MRC Guidelines for the development and evaluation of complex interventions, a 12-week intervention was developed and informed by a systematic review of the factors that influence PA in people with schizophrenia and a qualitative study exploring the barriers and motivators to PA (n=10). The feasibility and acceptability of the intervention was then investigated in an uncontrolled pilot study (n=20).

The pilot study demonstrated that the intervention was both feasible and acceptable to people with schizophrenia. The retention rate was 90% (n=18), and reasons given for dropout were work commitments and other illness.

Of the 18 who completed the intervention, 17 (94%) increased their weekly step count, 14 (78%) met current public health guidelines of 10,000 steps per day at some point during the 12 weeks, 10 (56%) experienced some weight loss, 12 (67%) took up an additional health promotion opportunity (e.g., improving diet, stopping smoking, joining a gym) and 13 (72%) took up another form of PA in addition to walking (e.g., swimming).

Participants found the intervention enjoyable and thought it should be offered to everyone with schizophrenia. The intervention also proved to be feasible and acceptable to staff who referred patients to take part. Informal feedback from staff confirmed the need for such a service, particularly for those taking anti-psychotic medication, and indicated that, if it was to be implemented more widely, it would be a popular and useful resource.