Delivery and evaluation of a health and wellbeing programme for young people experiencing psychosis

A 12-week holistic health and wellbeing programme for rangatahi experiencing early psychosis. This will include a total of 24 delivery hours (12 x 2-hour weekly sessions) that include knowledge- or skill-based sessions (e.g., nutrition, living with medication) and physical activity sessions. A physical workbook will be used to accompany the programme - this is currently in development with our design partners (Studio C) and our research team (including our lived experience team members). This workbook will provide interactive prompts for participants to reflect on their experiences of wellbeing whilst living with psychosis, and will align with the topics and sessions delivered. The nature of our co-design process means that 50% of the programme is confirmed (six sessions), with the remaining 50% to be co-designed prior to the programme. We have a core list of topics that will address: group forming (relationship building amongst the group through various activities); living with medication (information session); physical activity; (information and activity session); cooking and nutrition (information and activity session); understanding the role of spaces and places in wellbeing (information and activity session); and creative expression and identity-finding through art (activity session). Our facilitators are highly experienced in their respective areas, and include pharmacists, occupational therapists, exercise and nutrition professionals, and art therapists. We have identified potential session topics and facilitators for the remaining 50% of sessions, including nature walks, traditional Maori games (taonga takaro), but participants may also suggest additional topics and we will find facilitators for these sessions as and when they have been chosen. To address this fluid process, we have a risk management plan in place that have been developed alongside Early Intervention Services to safeguard participant wellbeing throughout the programme, which includes the continuous presence of an experienced clinical psychologist. We have established a ‘home base’ from where the sessions will mainly be delivered - Akau Tangi recreation centre in Wellington - which contains the appropriate facilities. The programme will be delivered once, consisting of 12 sessions over the course of 14 weeks from March 2025 to June 2025 (accounting for two weeks for the Easter break). Adherence to the programme (or as we term it, ‘engagement’) is our primary variable of interest, and will be assessed via simple attendance checklists for each of the 15 participants. For the physical activity sessions, we are not assessing level of exertion or any other self-reported or objective measures - this does not align with our mana-enhancing approach nor does it form part of our research questions. Our exercise professionals (staff from our delivery partners, Nuku Ora) will be delivering the majority physical activity sessions and will use their extensive experience to monitor safety throughout the sessions, including the appropriate Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaires. For some sessions that our participants might request, we will be sourcing these facilitators closer to the time (e.g., Maori game facilitators, Te Matau Ora), but our Nuku Ora staff will be ever-present throughout the programme. All physical activity sessions will be group sessions. To reiterate, we are not aiming to measure the effectiveness of physical activity to address any objective measures of health, but rather as a platform for social connection, engagement with the programme, and ultimately holistic self-perceived wellbeing. In terms of the structure of the physical activity components, this is not strictly structured. In the context of our research question - we are not investigating any dose-response associated with physical activity - we are taking a flexible approach to the incorporation of physical activity within each session. Broadly, we have planned to have the first 60 minutes of each session for knowledge-based components and the second 60 minutes for physical activity, but this is likely to change on specific weekly content and is also dependent on what our participants would like - thus aligning to our participant-centred rather than prescriptive approach. None of the activities or sessions described fall outside the scope of what is usually delivered to clients of Early Intervention Services; the purpose of this programme is to deliver in a structured, co-designed way and to purposefully investigate the effects of the programme on wellbeing.