Activity for Wellbeing: Promoting wellbeing through physical activity in aged care workers.

This trial aims to study the efficacy of using a need-supportive, person-centred physical activity program for improving and maintaining physical activity participation and psychological wellbeing in frontline aged care workers. A mixed-methods design will also evaluate the perceived effectiveness and limitations of the program for this population. Potential participants that respond to recruitment information will be contacted to obtain informed consent, confirm eligibility for inclusion, and undertake pre-exercise health screening (Adult Pre-Exercise Screening System) and baseline measures. Once participants have undertaken baseline measures and inclusion is confirmed, participants will be block randomised at the individual level to intervention or wait-list control. The intervention will be delivered by an Accredited Exercise Physiologist and will consist of 12 weeks of active need-support (support of the basic needs of competence, autonomy and relatedness) using a Self Determination theory-based approach. For more information see publications by Ryan and Deci or http://selfdeterminationtheory.org/theory/). The need-support will be applied through the following strategies: • One initial face-to-face motivational interviewing-based session (approximately 1 hour), which will be used to investigate individual barriers and preferences for physical activity, and for the collaborative development of a person-centred activity plan (aimed at assisting the participant to meet ACSM recommendations for physical activity). During this session participants will also be taught how to use affect and ratings of perceived exertion to regulate exercise intensity, and the use of a pedometer and interactive website for monitoring step counts. • Weekly contacts via the dashboard page of the program website for providing feedback on goal-setting, motivational statements and active encouragement and support (12 contacts over the course of 12-weeks), or email contacts (where preferred to the website). These contacts will occur as comments or messages that will appear on the participant's dashboard (unscheduled - will generally be in response to goal-setting or to prompt goal-setting) • Monthly informational newsletters • Free access to gyms located at various sites of the funding organisation (the number of gym sessions logged will be counted to indicate participant engagement) The website that will be used in this study has been previously piloted (Frensham et al. 2014) and will include a page with general nutritional guidelines, links to informational websites, local community activities and resources, a forum where participants can interact with the researchers and other participants, a personal dashboard where they can input step counts for self-monitoring, tiered goal-setting, and a space where researchers can input feedback and motivational statements. Participants will be free to access the website as regularly as they like to input step goals and view information on the dashboard. The intervention will be structured to gradually shift participants from high levels of researcher input to low levels of researcher input and increased autonomy over the period of the 12-week intervention. Adherence to the program will be evaluated through participant engagement with the website, frequency of goal-setting, uploading of step counts, number of gym sessions logged and change in and maintenance of physical activity behaviour (primary outcomes). Participant experiences (perceived effectiveness and limitations of the program) will be investigated qualitatively, post-intervention.