Grant: Foundation Grant

Physical inactivity is a health risk factor and a burden on Canadian public health. While inactivity is of concern at a population level, it is even more troubling for individuals with mental illness such as depression. At least 1.4 million Canadians (7% of women and 5% of men) suffer from depressive symptoms at any given point in time and one in seven will experience depression during their lifetime. Conventional depression treatments (e.g., psychotherapy & medications) are expensive and have limited appeal, reach and accessibility for many individuals with depression. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the development of innovative and acceptable treatment options that can ultimately reach all Canadians with depressive symptoms. One of the most effective non-pharmacological interventions for mental illness is engagement in exercise. As a timely response to new clinical guidelines and national mental health strategies, the proposed research program will be unique internationally in developing, assessing, and evaluating exercise interventions and initiatives aimed at alleviating depression across the lifespan. Three primary inter-related projects will develop an exercise intervention tool-kit for use by mental health practitioners in collaboration with their patients, and test several novel approaches to delivering exercise interventions to individuals with depression including referral to structured and supervised exercise and the development of a mobile app-based intervention to increase physical activity in adults with depression. My research will provide a blueprint to individuals and healthcare providers for innovative, sustainable, and feasible physical activity strategies that can reduce the burden of depression.