Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Many Canadians struggle with substance use and mental health disorders. The ability for exercise to assist with many aspects of mental and physical health have been shown. Unfortunately, these individuals are less active then a typical adult population. The use of theory-based behavior change interventions has shown promise to effectively alter exercise behavior. The Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) encompasses both the initiation of exercise and the maintenance of continued participation. My research program will qualitative explore (with semi-structured interviews) current PA levels, perceived barriers to exercise, outcome expectancies of PA and exercise intervention preferences. Building on the previous work, phase two will develop and implement an intervention directed towards initiation of PA. The intervention will encompass many of the constructs from the HAPA frame work including task self-efficacy, outcome expectancies and risk perceptions to increase intentions to partake in PA. Utilizing a randomized control trial design, either a control in-person educational session (i.e., nutritional presentation) or a treatment in-person educational session (i.e., HAPA based PA presentation), will be delivered to the participants. Task self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, risk perceptions, and intentions will be measured pre and post-intervention. Phase three will focus on integrating a maintenance stage component (i.e., action planning, coping planning, and maintenance self-efficacy) for when patients leave treatment. This research will develop and evaluate the use of HAPA based PA interventions in substance abuse treatment facilities, allow for integration of theory-based models in treatment facilities, and if PA patterns can be increased in this population, a cost-effective method to better the health of Canadians through the recovery process will be established.