Despite robust evidence of its benefits, physical activity (PA) promotion is rarely integrated into routine mental health care. This study aims to investigate the long-term effects of a brief, theory-informed three-hour workshop on mental health professionals’ (MHPs’) PA prescription intentions and their psychological determinants.
A pre-test/post-test single-arm design was used. Eighty MHPs completed assessments before and after the workshop, and 44 completed a nine-month follow-up. Outcomes were framed using Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior: attitudes (instrumental and affective), subjective norms, perceived behavioral control (PBC) and intentions.
Significant improvements were observed across all constructs immediately post-intervention (all p < 0.001), with moderate effect sizes for PBC (d = 0.61) and intentions (d = 0.56). At nine months, improvements persisted for affective attitudes (d = 0.40), subjective norms (d = 0.27) and PBC (d = 0.39), while instrumental attitudes and intentions returned to near-baseline.
The single-arm design without a control group precludes causal inference, and attrition at nine-month follow-up may introduce selection bias. Future research should use randomized controlled designs and investigate booster sessions to sustain intention change.
Brief theory-informed workshops can produce meaningful and partially sustained improvements in MHPs’ readiness to prescribe PA, but should be embedded within broader organizational frameworks to translate motivation into routine clinical behavior.
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine nine-month outcomes following a brief PA counseling workshop for MHPs, highlighting both the utility and limitations of one-shot educational interventions.
J. Tecco, Arnaud Philippot, P. Ward et al.· Journal of Mental Health Tra...· 0 citations
Introduction Enhancing mental health professionals’ knowledge and confidence in prescribing physical activity (PA) is a priority, given its benefits for mental health. This study evaluated whether a brief, three-hour educational workshop could improve PA-related knowledge, attitudes, confidence, and clinical behaviors. Methods Eighty mental health professionals (58% women; mean age 38.9 ± 10.7 years; mean experience 14.5 ± 10.0 years) with mainly a physiotherapy (33.8%), education (15.0%), and psychology (13.8%) background participated. Outcomes were measured using the Exercise in Mental Illness Questionnaire – Health Professionals Version at pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention, and 12-month follow-up. Results At baseline, 83.8% of participants (67/80) reported recommending PA. Among those completing both baseline and 12-month assessments (n = 44), the proportion never recommending PA decreased significantly from 29.5% to 2.3%. Knowledge improved from 2.1 ± 1.3 to 3.7 ± 0.7 (d = 1.26, p <0.001) immediately post-workshop and remained high at 12 months (d = 1.15, p <0.001). Confidence rose from 2.4 ± 1.3 to 3.6 ± 0.7 (d = 0.97, p <0.001) and remained elevated (d = 1.04, p <0.001). Assessment of patient activity increased from 4.5% to 44.2% at 12 months, and participants increasingly provided personalized, preference-based PA guidance. Discussion A single three-hour workshop was associated with large improvements in knowledge, confidence, and PA-related clinical behaviors sustained at 12 months. These findings should be interpreted cautiously given the single-group design, reliance on self-reported outcomes, and substantial attrition at follow-up (44/80 completers). Brief educational interventions may represent a feasible approach to enhancing mental health professionals’ competencies in promoting physical activity. Future research should examine impacts on patient PA engagement.
J. Tecco, Arnaud Philippot, Bernard Dan et al.· Advances in Medical Educatio...· 0 citations
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