Increasing Physical Activity in Psychological Treatment (IPAcT)

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Increasing Physical Activity in Psychological Treatment (IPAcT)\n\n

• IRAS ID

  303061

• Contact name

  Stephen Pilling

• Contact email

  020 7679 1897

• Sponsor organisation

  Noclor: Camden & Islington NHS Foundation Trust (C&I)

• Duration of Study in the UK

  2 years, 0 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  Structured physical activity is an effective intervention for a range of common mental disorders. However, despite National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommendations (NICEPH54) the uptake of physical activity in psychological treatment services remains low. Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) is a National Health Service England (NHSE) programme aiming to increase access to evidence-based psychological treatments. This study aims to better understand the barriers and facilitators to the uptake of physical activity in IAPT services and the impact on outcomes across a number of different interventions.\n\nThe three interventions in this study are\nA) an integrated cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and physical activity group\nB) the introduction of a physical activity component into an existing psychoeducational workshop format for people attending IAPT services who also have a long-term physical health condition (LTC) \nC) the use of a digital well-being application (Foundations). This programme of work builds on a series of pilot studies undertaken by the participating Trusts to develop both the physical activity element of the psycho-educational workshops and group CBT. \n\nThis study will assess the uptake of services and the effectiveness of these three approaches compared to standard treatment. For interventions (A) and (B), where sample sizes are small, outcomes will be compared with previous CBT and LTC workshop outcomes. For intervention (C) propensity score matching of routinely collected demographic data and symptoms measures will be used to identify appropriate controls.\n\nOrganisational and individual factors which impact on the uptake of physical activity will be assessed using a) the NOMAD questionnaire for staff and b) service users’ experience of the physical activity component of their treatment will be explored using a series of semi-structured interviews. The results from the study will be fed back to study participants and to services to support service development to improve the uptake of physical activity.

• REC name

  South Central - Oxford B Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  22/SC/0042

• Date of REC Opinion

  18 Feb 2022

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion