PhD Student Aisling Forde wins Centre for Excellence in Universal Design (CEUD) award!

Individuals with severe mental illness are prone to increased health risks (e.g., weight gain, poor motivation, and high cardiovascular disease) and early mortality rates compared to the general population. This is often due to the symptoms of their mental illness and their antipsychotic medications. Engagement in regular physical activity with this cohort has helped to minimise these risks and has introduced many benefits to their participation (e.g., enjoyment, social interaction, reduced risk of health complications, and reduced body mass index). However, lacking motivation and support can prevent them from engaging in physical activity. Finding innovative ways to boost their physical activity and encourage regular exercise warrants further exploration. The introduction of digital technology (a.k.a. web-based application), alongside physical activity for this cohort, may enhance their motivation, engagement, and enjoyment, while offering them various physical activities.

A scoping review was conducted in 2023 to understand the literature and identify gaps in long-term physical activity interventions for individuals with severe mental illness and the use of digital technology within this population. 24 studies were included in the review. It was found that various approaches to physical activity interventions were employed, and multiple digital technologies were utilised. Accelerometers were commonly used to measure physical activity levels among the studies. Although various physical activities were examined, walking was the most prevalent, and group physical activity was more common than individual sessions. However, there was a lack of studies utilising a co-design approach to identify interventions that would be sustainable in the long term. We utilised Public and Patient Involvement with individuals with severe mental illness and their clinicians within an Irish mental health residential setting to gain their feedback on the design of the web-based application. This work facilitated listening to those with lived experience and helped to design and develop the web-based application accordingly.

This platform has been designed to meet the needs and preferences of individuals with a severe mental illness. The platform, named Active Ease, includes education elements such as the benefits of Moving More for Your Mental and Physical Health, What Does Being Active Mean?, Barriers to Moving More, Myths About Physical Activity, and How to Support Doing Physical Activity. The platform includes an activities section where the user can choose from various physical activities to participate in (e.g., individual, group activities, and guided workouts). These physical activities include visuals (i.e., pictures and videos) to assist the user in engaging independently in the physical activity. The videos include voiceovers and demonstrations of how to do the physical activity. Additionally, Active Ease can be used as a resource for clinicians to help facilitate physical activity with service users and as a signpost to physical activity for them.

The feasibility of Active Ease was tested in a 10-week intervention (phase one). The intervention was conducted with service users in two Irish mental health residential settings. The researcher visited the service users in the residence twice a week, providing support for the application through one-to-one assistance or a group setting. Some service users used Active Ease independently. The post-phase one intervention involved interviews with service users and clinicians. The platform was useful and enjoyed by service users; however, the importance of human support alongside digital technology was highlighted. Additionally, accelerometer and BMI data revealed positive trends towards increased physical activity and lower BMI among the cohort.

Phase two of the intervention is ongoing and is focused on the long-term sustainability of this platform. This involves supporting clinicians within these environments to use Active Ease comfortably and helping service users gain confidence in using the application.