Abstract
BACKGROUND: An exercise referral scheme (ERS) has not been implemented within a university’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) to improve mental and physical health. The aims of this study were to assess the implementation of an ERS delivered through CAPS, and evaluate the effects of ERS in a college population on physical activity (PA) and health outcomes.
METHODS: To determine implementation of ERS in CAPS, counselors at a large, public U.S. university were invited to refer patients to receive physical activity counseling. To test the effectiveness of ERS, participants from the general campus population were also recruited to participate in a randomized control trial by completing a Physical Activity Vital Sign survey. The study was conducted between January to April 2022. The treatment group received weekly motivational interviewing sessions across 4 weeks. The control group (CG) received a PA consultation. Outcomes included device-based PA, fitness, and mental health measures. Measures were assessed pre and postintervention, and repeated measures ANCOVAs tested intervention effects (α=0.05).
RESULTS: 0/14 referred CAPS students joined the ERS, despite reported feasibility from the participating counselor. Twenty sedentary students from the general population were randomized to either TG (N.=10, 70% female) or CG (N.=10, 80% female). TG showed beneficial group-by-time effects compared to the CG for percent body fat (change = -0.05, P=0.006), relative VO2 max (change = 2.13, P=0.004), muscular strength (change = 3.1, P=0.001), and total DASS-21 Scores (change = -5.1, P=0.001) but not device-based PA (change = 52.6, P=0.296).
CONCLUSIONS: Patients from CAPS were not motivated to join the ERS. However, MI sessions to increase physical activity positively affected fitness and mental health scores in a broader student sample, but not device-based physical activity. More work is needed to overcome ERS implementation barriers in CAPS so that patients can receive benefits of physical activity for physical and mental health.