Evaluation of the Exercise for Wellbeing Pathway at York St John University

On-campus Supervised Physical Activity Programme for University Students Facing Mental Health Challenges: a Feasibility Study Exploring Feasibility, Acceptability, Fidelity and Preliminary Effects

In autumn 2024, York St John University launched a physical activity programme for university students facing mental health challenges. The purpose of this project is to conduct a mixed-methods evaluative study of this new service over a 6-month period. It is anticipated that 20-40 students will be recruited to the study, which will assess the following: assess the following: feasibility, the extent to which the service can be delivered successfully; acceptability, the extent to which the service is considered appropriate, satisfactory, or attractive by programme recipients and intervention delivery staff; fidelity, the extent to which the key service components (e.g., assessment procedures, physical activity programme) were implemented as planned and adaptations were made; preliminary effects, with relation to physical, mental and social health outcomes.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Mental Health
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Physical activity programme

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 17
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • North Yorkshire
    • York, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom, YO31 7EX
      • York St John University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Student enrolled at York St John University
• Age 18 years and over
• Undertaking a course which requires attendance at York St John University's Lord Mayor's Walk Campus
• Presenting to the student wellbeing team with mild-to-moderate mental health concerns (defined as experiencing symptoms of poor mental health such as feeling depressed or socially isolated, prolonged stress and anxiety, or experiencing academic decline that makes their daily life more difficult but maintain daily functioning) and expressing an interest in enhancing their mental health and daily functioning

Exclusion Criteria:

• Unwilling or unable to provide written informed consent
• Unable to attend (or to participate in) the scheduled physical activity sessions
• Unsuccessful physical activity clearance using the physical activity readiness questionnaire (PAR-Q+)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Intervention group; This group will comprise of university students who are enrolled on the Exercise for Wellbeing pathway and who have consented to participate in this evaluative study.

Behavioral: Physical activity programme; The physical activity programme will have the following features: 6-week programme; 1-2 supervised physical activity sessions per week; 60 minutes per session, including a mixture of physical activities (e.g. walking, other aerobic physical activity, resistance, balance and stretching exercises); Self-selected physical activity intensity; Group-based (maximum of 10 students per session); Sessions supervised by a qualified exercise instructor. A member of the University's Wellbeing team will also be present to offer students mental health support, if needed.; Physical activity behavioral strategies incorporated into the 6-week programme (e.g., goal setting, action planning, exploring barriers and enablers, setting cues or prompts for self-directed PA); Encouragement to be physically active away from the supervised sessions

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Rate of recruitment	The average number of participants recruited per month	Over the course of the 6-month enrollment period
Rate of retention	The proportion of participants who complete the study	From enrollment to the end of intervention at 6 weeks
Rate of attendance	Median number of supervised physical activity sessions attended amongst all participants	From enrollment to the end of intervention at 6 weeks
Acceptability of the service	The extent to which the service is considered appropriate, satisfactory, or attractive by programme recipients and intervention delivery staff. Assessed primarily via one-to-one interviews and an exit survey.	At the 6-week follow-up assessment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Fidelity	The extent to which the key service components (e.g., assessment procedures, physical activity programme) were implemented as planned and adaptations were made. Assessed primarily via session record data and post-intervention interviews with participants and service delivery staff.	From enrollment to the end of intervention at 6 weeks
Mean time per day in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity	Assessed using an Axivity AX6 wrist-worn accelerometer worn continuously for 7 days at each study timepoint	Assessed at baseline and at the 6-week follow-up
10-item Recovering Quality of Life (ReQoL) questionnaire	The minimum index score for ReQoL-10 is 0 and the maximum is 40, where 0 indicates poorest quality of life and 40 indicates highest quality of life.	Assessed at baseline and at the 6-week follow-up
9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)	The total score ranges from 0 to 27 with higher scores indicating more severe depression.	Assessed at baseline and at the 6-week follow-up
38-item Mental Health Inventory (MHI-38)	All the MHI items are scored on a six-point scale (1-6) except for items 9 and 28, which are scored on a five-point scale (1-5). The raw score range is 38-226, with higher scores on the Mental Health Index indicating less psychological distress and greater psychological well-being.	Assessed at baseline and at the 6-week follow-up
Resting blood pressure (automated)		Assessed before and after the 6-week intervention period
Estimated maximal oxygen uptake (YMCA submaximal cycle test)		Assessed before and after the 6-week intervention period
Grip strength (Jamar handgrip dynamometer)		Assessed before and after the 6-week intervention period
Lower-limb muscular strength/endurance (30-s sit-to-stand test)		Assessed before and after the 6-week intervention period
Adverse events		From enrollment to the end of the exit assessment after the end of the 6-week intervention period

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: York St John University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Professor Garry Tew, PhD, York St John University

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• Webpage that describes the University's Exercise for Wellbeing pathway

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 27, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 10, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): September 10, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 3, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 7, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): March 13, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): September 17, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 10, 2025
• Last Verified: September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Depression; Exercise; Anxiety; Physical activity; Psychological distress; University student
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Personal Satisfaction; Anxiety Disorders; Depression; Psychological Well-Being; Motor Activity
• Other Study ID Numbers: ETH2425-0237

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED
• IPD Plan Description: Anonymised IPD may be shared on the University's data repository, RaYDaR.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No