Understanding Motivation Towards Exercise to Enhance Physical Activity on Prescription Adherence

One question regarding exercise and one question regarding every day physical activity in a typical week. The question regarding exercise comprises 6 answer alternatives ranging from 0 min to more than 120 min per week. The question regarding every day physical activity comprises 7 answer alternatives raging from 0 min to more than 300 min per week. The questions are produced by the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare.

Device measured physical activity, measured with an accelerometer for 7 consecutive days. Raw data are then recalculated to minutes spent in light, moderate and vigouros physical acticity intensity zones.

Data from device measured physical activity, measured with an accelerometer for 7 consecutive days, are used to collect daily step counts.

Ekblom-Bak cycle ergometer test will be used to assess cardio-respiratory fitness.

Hand grip strength of the non dominant hand is measured with a hand dynamometer to the nearest kg. Three consecutive trials is performed in a seated position with the elbow held at a 90 degree angle and the highest value is recorded. A higher value indicate higher upper limb strength.

Five repetition sit to stand test. From a seated position, the participant is instructed to stand up and then sit down again for a total of five times. The total time of five repetition sit to stand cycles is then recorded in seconds with a stopwatch. A lower total time indicate higher lower limb muscle strength.

Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2 (BREQ-2) will be used. The questionnaire contains 19 questions, belonging to one of the five categories Amotivation, External regulation, Introjected regulation, Identified regulation and Intrinsic regulation. The scale assesses where a person is on the continuum of self-determination in where higher, positive scores indicate greater relative autonomy; lower, negative scores indicate more controlled regulation.

The Swedish Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale (ESES-S) will be used. The questionnaire comprises 10 questions on exercise self-efficacy, each with four answer alternatives. The composite score ranges from 10 to 40 and a higher score indicate a higher precised self-efficacy towards exercise.

The Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale (BPNES) will be used. This questionnaire contains 12 questions related to one of three basic psychological needs; Autonomy, Competence and Relatedness in the exercise domain. Answers are given on a five point Likert scale and results are presented for the individual needs and as a collective, global need. The maximal score for each question is 5 and the minimal score is 1. Mean values for each need is presented together with a mean score of all 12 questions. A higher score indicate a higher need fulfillment.

RAND-36 health survey will be used (RAND is not an acronym but the name of a research corporation). The RAND-36 survey contains 36 questions belonging to eight health concepts that can be further categorized into two summary scores; physical and mental health. The answers from the survey is re-coded into points in where higher points indicate better perceived health. The points, ranging from 0 to 100, are then presented for the different concepts, the two summary scores and the overall score for the 36 questions.

Semi-structured qualitative individual interviews will be conducted in both groups where barriers and facilitators towards physical activity will be explored.