Title: The Cope Trial: Evaluating the Engagement of Healthcare Workers in an mHealth Exercise App Intervention
Supervisor: Dr. Guy Faulkner
Committee members: Dr. Eli Puterman, Dr. Mark Beauchamp
Abstract:
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated symptoms of stress, burnout, depression, and anxiety among healthcare workers (HCWs). Physical activity (PA) improves mental and physical health, and can be used as a coping method by individuals experiencing poor mental health and high levels of stress. Research has investigated the use of mobile health (mHealth) interventions to promote PA and such interventions are particularly relevant in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 Pandemic and exercise for healthcare workers (COPE) trial was a novel 12-week mHealth exercise intervention tailored to HCWs using a suite of at-home exercise apps. Very few studies have investigated or evaluated the engagement in an mHealth exercise intervention among HCWs, and studies have rarely used qualitative methods to examine experiences of such interventions. Using the Capability-Opportunity-Motivation-Behavior (COM-B) model and diffusion of innovation (DoI) theory, this study explores the following research questions: 1) How well did the COPE intervention address capability, opportunity and motivation for individuals demonstrating different engagement profiles? 2)What DoI attributes of the COPE intervention were associated with engagement in the trial? 3) What can be learned from applying these theories to understanding engagement in mHealth interventions? Methods: One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted via Zoom with 25 HCWs in British Columbia who had recently completed the COPE trial. Interviews were analyzed through reflexive thematic analysis methods. Results: The results of this novel study will be used to strengthen and sustain the innovative program, with the intention of making it widely accessible and sustainable long-term to promote physical and mental health. Further, results will contribute to the limited literature regarding the evaluation of engagement in mHealth exercise interventions for HCWs.