Act-Active.

N/A

The general objective of this project is to evaluate, for persons with a SCI, on the short and long term, the added value of a behavioural focused intervention, on top of a physical exercise intervention, on the level of everyday physical activity. To obtain insight in the working mechanisms of the intervention the study will specifically focus on the role of (changes in) physical activity level and fitness level for patient well-being. We hypothesize that the combination of a behavioural and physical exercise intervention will lead to larger improvements in activity level compared to only physical exercise. The addition of a behavioural intervention is expected to be crucial for the maintenance of effects after discharge from the rehabilitation center.

Measurements will be performed in both the FIT and Behave+FIT group at the beginning of the intervention period (T1), at discharge from the rehabilitation center (T2), 6 months after discharge (T3), and 1 year after discharge (T4).

The intervention will start 2 months before discharge from the rehabilitation center. Subjects will be randomized into two groups (FIT and Behave+FIT). Both groups receive an exercise intervention and sports advice during inpatient rehabilitation. The Behave+FIT group (n=30) in addition will receive a behavioural intervention from the last 2 months before discharge till 6 months after discharge from the rehabilitation center. The exercise intervention consists of a handcycle training program aimed at increasing physical fitness (24 sessions). Sports advice consists of informing about sport possibilities and giving the opportunity to try different kinds of sports at the rehabilitation center or accompanying when visiting another sports center. The behavioural intervention consists of individual counseling on movement behaviour (everyday physical activity and sports) based on motivational interviewing (total of 13 sessions). The behavioural intervention includes setting up action plans and coping strategies and giving feedback by using cycle counters which can register the amount of kilometres travelled with a wheelchair. Moreover, the intervention includes a home visit and additional information will be provided about relevant topics related to physical activity such as barriers and facilitators and health benefits.