A Mental Health-Informed Physical Activity Intervention for First Responders and Their Partners Delivered Using Facebook: Mixed Methods Pilot Study

Grace McKeon; Zachary Steel; Ruth Wells; Jill Newby; Dusan Hadzi-Pavlovic; Davy Vancampfort; Simon Rosenbaum

doi:10.2196/23432

A Mental Health-Informed Physical Activity Intervention for First Responders and Their Partners Delivered Using Facebook: Mixed Methods Pilot Study

JMIR Form Res. 2021 Apr 22;5(4):e23432. doi: 10.2196/23432.

Authors

Grace McKeon¹, Zachary Steel^{1

2}, Ruth Wells¹, Jill Newby^{3

4}, Dusan Hadzi-Pavlovic¹, Davy Vancampfort^{5

6}, Simon Rosenbaum^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
² St John of God Richmond Hospital, St John of God Health Care, North Richmond, Australia.
³ School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
⁴ Black Dog Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
⁵ Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
⁶ University Psychiatric Center KU Leuven, Leuven-Kortenberg, Belgium.

PMID: 33885376
PMCID: PMC8103303
DOI: 10.2196/23432

Abstract

Background: First responders (eg, police, firefighters, and paramedics) are at high risk of experiencing poor mental health. Physical activity interventions can help reduce symptoms and improve mental health in this group. More research is needed to evaluate accessible, low-cost methods of delivering programs. Social media may be a potential platform for delivering group-based physical activity interventions.

Objective: This study aims to examine the feasibility and acceptability of delivering a mental health-informed physical activity program for first responders and their self-nominated support partners. This study also aims to assess the feasibility of applying a novel multiple time series design and to explore the impact of the intervention on mental health symptoms, sleep quality, quality of life, and physical activity levels.

Methods: We co-designed a 10-week web-based physical activity program delivered via a private Facebook group. We provided education and motivation around different topics weekly (eg, goal setting, overcoming barriers to exercise, and reducing sedentary behavior) and provided participants with a Fitbit. A multiple time series design was applied to assess psychological distress levels, with participants acting as their own control before the intervention.

Results: In total, 24 participants (12 first responders and 12 nominated support partners) were recruited, and 21 (88%) completed the postassessment questionnaires. High acceptability was observed in the qualitative interviews. Exploratory analyses revealed significant reductions in psychological distress during the intervention. Preintervention and postintervention analysis showed significant improvements in quality of life (P=.001; Cohen d=0.60); total depression, anxiety, and stress scores (P=.047; Cohen d=0.35); and minutes of walking (P=.04; Cohen d=0.55). Changes in perceived social support from family (P=.07; Cohen d=0.37), friends (P=.10; Cohen d=0.38), and sleep quality (P=.28; Cohen d=0.19) were not significant.

Conclusions: The results provide preliminary support for the use of social media and a multiple time series design to deliver mental health-informed physical activity interventions for first responders and their support partners. Therefore, an adequately powered trial is required.

Trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN): 12618001267246; https://anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?ACTRN=12618001267246.

Keywords: PTSD; exercise; families; first responders; mental health; online; physical activity; social media.

©Grace McKeon, Zachary Steel, Ruth Wells, Jill Newby, Dusan Hadzi-Pavlovic, Davy Vancampfort, Simon Rosenbaum. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 22.04.2021.