Lithuanian Sports University e-Journals
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Intervention Development for the MAintAin Physical Activity in Arthritis Study
Full text linkPurpose: Despite evidence demonstrating the health benefits of physical activity (PA), people with arthritis do not meet recommended PA levels. Whilst various exercise programmes support people with arthritis to become active, most individuals reduce their PA levels after completion. These programmes may lack the necessary behaviour change components for PA maintenance, such as becoming autonomous and creating new habits. This research aims to develop a PA maintenance intervention for those with arthritis, after exit from a structured exercise programme.
Methods: Intervention development is informed by the Medical Research Council (MRC) framework, and the category three approach of the “IdentifyiNg and assessing different approaches to DEveloping compleX interventions” (INDEX study). In the category three approach, our underpinning intervention theory, intervention components and mediators for a ‘logic model’ are informed by a literature review, direct observation of behaviour change techniques (BCTs) in supervised exercise classes (n = 13) delivered by four physiotherapists, and focus groups (n = 2) with those who attended these classes.
Results: Given the lack of consensus on underpinning theory for PA maintenance, we used the Behaviour Change Wheel and the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to inform intervention development. Two researchers independently mapped barriers and facilitators to PA maintenance identified in our qualitative data to the TDF. We used the “Theory & Techniques Tool” to identify potentially effective BCTs; supplemented by literature sources: we extracted key information from our own work, from condition specific, behaviour change, and PA guidelines, theoretical papers on maintenance behaviour and reviews/trials of PA maintenance interventions. We also considered BCTs linked to PA maintenance observed in the exercise classes. We developed a logic model which helped inform process outcomes we will measure in a future feasibility study. Intervention components will include self-regulatory skills, social support, habit formation, planning, and relapse prevention.
Conclusion: PA maintenance is critical to sustain benefits of exercise programmes. We describe the development process for a PA maintenance intervention, after exiting a structured exercise programme. As the population ages, there will be more people living with arthritis and it is important that we find effective ways to support long-term PA to protect long-term health
Leaders Like Us: Supporting Inclusivity and Accessibility in Female Physical Activity Leadership
Full text linkBackground: The United Kingdom physical activity workforce remains predominantly White and male, contributing to lower participation rates among young females from underserved communities. Research highlights the significance of relatable role models in engaging inactive populations, particularly those sharing characteristics including gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. However, evidence-based programmes explicitly designed to empower young females from underserved backgrounds in broader physical activity contexts beyond traditional sports remain scarce. This research, part of the Leaders Like Us project, aims to systematically map and critically analyse UK-based programmes to understand effective engagement, support, and development mechanisms for these young female leaders.
Methods: This study employed a mixed-methods approach. Firstly, systematic mapping identified, categorised, and evaluated existing young physical activity leader programmes across the United Kingdom. This included assessing programme objectives, recruitment strategies, engagement mechanisms, and outcomes, with a critical focus on programme mechanisms for supporting underserved youth. Secondly, qualitative focus groups with stakeholders, sport development practitioners, with between 3 and 15 years of experience developing young people as physical activity leaders, explored effective strategies, challenges, and best practices in engaging underserved female groups.
Results: Findings revealed few programmes specifically target underserved young females or extend beyond traditional sport settings. Programmes frequently lacked appropriate mechanisms to engage young people experiencing multiple intersecting markers of disadvantage. Effective engagement strategies included targeted outreach, culturally competent programme design, accessible locations, and peer-led mentorship. Key mechanisms for sustained participation involved building confidence, ensuring safe and inclusive environments, and aligning activities with participants’ lived experiences. Programmes articulating clear outcomes related to personal growth, leadership skills, and social impact demonstrated greater sustainability potential.
Conclusion: This study advances understanding of inclusive leadership development in physical activity contexts. By highlighting successful recruitment strategies, engagement processes, and practitioner recommendations, the research provides actionable insights for practitioners and policymakers aiming to enhance inclusivity and sustainability in physical activity leadership, ultimately promoting sustained participation among underserved young females
Relationship Between Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, and Sleep Duration Behaviours Among Adults in 16 European Countries (2008–2015, HETUS Second Wave)
Full text linkObjective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the health behaviours in a 24 hour movement context. The authors explore the relationship of health behaviours with each other.
Participants and Methods: Three health behaviours (physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviour (SB), sleep duration (SD)) were self-reported through 24-hour time-use diaries from the Harmonised European Time Use Surveys (HETUS, Wave 2, 2008–2015), covering adults aged 18–80+ (Female n = 106,973, 56.7%; Male n = 81,702, 43.3%) across 16 European countries.
Results: The study revealed the following evidence of transfer: (1) higher PA is associated with lower SB, (2) higher PA is associated with longer SD, and (3) longer SD is associated with lower SB. The following compensation evidence was found: (1) higher PA was associated with higher SB, and (2) shorter SD with higher PA.
Conclusion: In this cross-national European study, PA, SB, and SD exhibit complex, bidirectional relationships that reflect both synergistic and compensatory effects. These findings highlight the importance of integrated movement behaviour approaches in public health strategies. Further research is needed to investigate causal pathways and the broader bio-psycho-social and environmental influences on these relationships.
Keywords: Physical activity, sedentary behaviour, sleep duration, health behaviour, public health, Europea
Snapshots of Physical Activity: Understanding Primary School Pupils’ Physical Activity Needs
Full text linkPurpose: Integrating short bouts of physical activity into the primary school day to interrupt sedentary learning time can significantly enhance children’s wellbeing. However, many Dutch schools have yet to successfully implement such a more ‘dynamic’ school day. This project aims to inspire and support primary schools in creating a more dynamic school environment tailored to their local context. To achieve this, we sought to understand pupils’ perceptions of physical activity during the school day through photo elicitation sessions.
Methods: We organised photo elicitation sessions with pupils aged 8–9 years in six schools. Within each school, two sessions were planned. During the first session, pupils would be divided into small subgroups (3–6 pupils) and each group would guide the researchers through the school. During the guided tour, pupils would make polaroid pictures of the places where they were physically active or inactive. In the second session, pupils reviewed the photos and drew activities they wished to engage in within three settings: the classroom, inside the school, and the schoolyard. The photos and drawings were analysed thematically using the Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model (YPAPM).
Results: The results provided us with a better understanding of the perspectives of pupils on the physical activity opportunities and barriers within and around the school. This includes perspectives on the environment (places where pupils are more/less physically active), social interactions (with peers and/or school staff), and emotional influences when pupils participate in physical activity “I like having an active break from work – it helps me concentrate better afterwards”.
Conclusion: Our results can help participating schools to make their local plans for a dynamic school day more effective, engaging, and context-specific. Not only can the teachers understand their pupils better, but pupils are also encouraged to come up with child-led solutions, potentially empowering them to take ownership of their own physical activity participation.
Support/Funding Source: This study is supported by a RAAK PRO grant from SIA NWO, the Dutch Research Council (Project Number RAAK.PRO05.048)
Take the Stairs to Improve Your Fitness – A Project for Developing a Stair Test Mobile Application for Monitoring Fitness
Full text linkThe purpose of this project is to develop a mobile application that provides users with a tool to monitor their aerobic fitness level and its development using a simple sub-maximal fitness test done on publicly available staircases. The societal goal of the project is to improve the fitness of citizens who are in poor physical condition, thereby improving the ability for physical activity. The stair test application aims to direct users’ attention to their own physical fitness, which is a prerequisite for managing daily activities and thus sets limits on increasing physical activity. Integrated fitness tests have been developed before but have required a lot of time and initiative from the user, and do not allow automatic monitoring of fitness levels or digital documentation of results. In addition to measuring fitness, the stair test application can send encouraging reminders to the user to repeat the stair test at regular intervals.
The test algorithm and mobile application are developed at the University of Jyväskylä using the Research for JYU mobile application platform. Performing the fitness test takes only a few minutes, and the performance data is collected anonymously, utilising artificial intelligence and automation. Users receive their results and feedback immediately after the test. The application is pilot tested during the summer 2025 in Jyväskylä using four public staircases users may choose from. The aim of the pilot test was to investigate a) Does the physical fitness of the application users improve during the monitoring period? b) What types of users adopt the application and use it regularly? c) Which test environments best reach the target group? and d) How do users’ physical activity level and exercise self-efficacy change during the test period? After pilot testing the target is to extend the test locations to other cities in Finland and potentially in Europe.
The expected impact of the project is to offer citizens an easy way to receive more information about their fitness level and encourage them to climb stairs regularly. The data received from the application will provide important information for future research regarding physical activity promotion and for further application development
The Association Between Physical Activity and Emotional Problems, Peer Problems, and Prosocial Behaviours in Adolescents is Affected by Genetic and Familial Factors
Full text linkPurpose: Adolescents participating in physical activity (PA) during their leisure time report lower symptoms of overall lower mental health outcomes. Although this topic is well-studied, few studies account for genetic and familial confounding factors when investigating these relationships. This study examined how frequency and type of leisure-time PA relate to mental health outcomes in adolescents and whether these associations remain after adjusting for familial confounding using a twin design.
Methods: Data were drawn from the population-based Swedish Twin Registry, including 14,109 15-year-olds. PA frequency and type were self-reported and categorised by frequency (times/week) and team vs individual participation. Mental health outcomes – emotional problems, peer problems, and prosocial behaviour – were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Analyses were conducted separately for girls and boys using generalised estimating equations (GEE) in the full cohort and within-twin pair analyses (dizygotic and monozygotic twins separately) to account for shared genetic and familial factors. Models were adjusted for baseline mental health at age nine, BMI, and birth year.
Results: Higher PA frequency was associated with more favourable scores on all three sub-scales in both girls and boys in a dose–response pattern. These associations remained significant for emotional problems in within-twin comparisons, indicating robustness to genetic and familial confounding. However, associations with peer problems and prosocial behaviour became non-significant in within-twin models, suggesting shared environmental or genetic factors may explain these relationships. Regarding PA type, participation in team, individual, or a combination of team and individual sports was associated with favourable scores on all three sub-scales compared to not participating in any sport. However, only the association for the emotional scale in girls remained significant in the within-twin analysis, indicating familial confounding explaining most associations.
Conclusion: Frequent leisure-time PA is associated with better emotional health in adolescents, even after accounting for genetic and shared familial factors. While participation in organised sports (individual and team) shows robust favourable associations with emotional problems only in girls. The findings highlight the potential of habitual and frequent leisure-time PA in supporting adolescent emotional wellbeing and underline the importance of considering genetic and familial influences in behavioural health research
The Subjective Wellbeing and Lived Care Experiences of Family Caregivers of People Living With Dementia: The Case Study of Photovoice Practice Implementation in Lithuania
Full text linkPurpose: To examine the subjective wellbeing and lived care experiences of family caregivers of people living with dementia (PLWD) in Lithuania through the implementation of the Photovoice practice.
Methods: Photovoice practice as a participatory research method. Qualitative research methods included focus group discussions with family caregivers of PLWD. Data collected during the process was analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Creative research results – photographs and stories were presented in a public exhibition.
Results: The following themes emerged within the focus group discussions, photographs, and stories: ‘interdependency’, ‘interconnectedness of care’, ‘mundane’, ‘the bond in care’, ‘the role of supportive environment’, ‘the aspiration to maintain one’s inner freedom’, and ‘who is the bearer of responsibility?’.
These themes uncovered areas of poor caregiver wellbeing (experienced high levels of stress and fatigue, challenges related to health and mental wellbeing, self-care skills, and free time; emotional and physical distress in care relationships); lack of daily dementia care skills; lack of support for caregivers (providing emotional support, assisting with daily tasks, creating opportunities for rest, and fostering healthy family-work life integration); lack of knowledge and stigma related to dementia within society and among formal and informal caregivers; limitations in the support system for people living with dementia (absence of a person-oriented approach, challenges in pre-, during, and post-diagnostic services, worrisome aspects of accessibility and quality); and the need for community support groups and arts-based approaches to support caregivers’ health and wellbeing.
Conclusion: There is an urgent need to actively support the wellbeing of family caregivers of PLWD in Lithuania by offering services that focus on care and self-care skills development, physical and mental resilience, and ensuring the accessibility and quality of care systems. The application of the Photovoice practice is an innovative arts-based approach to provide insight into the intimate environments and current quality of care and support received by both family caregivers and PLWD in Lithuania.
Support/Funding Source: The study has been supported with funding from the Global Brain Health Institute, Alzheimer’s Association, and Alzheimer’s Society through Pilot Award granted to Ieva Petkutė (an Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at the GBHI) (GBHI ALZ UK-22-732820)
Workplace Physical Activity Intervention Among Sedentary Workers: Initial Findings and Potential Implication
Full text linkPurpose: Sedentary behaviour in the workplace has become a growing public health concern, particularly among office-based employees who spend prolonged hours seated at work. Given the amount of time adults spend at work, the workplace presents a valuable opportunity for implementing health promotion strategies aimed at increasing physical activity levels.
This study aims to assess the effectiveness of a workplace physical activity intervention among sedentary workers in improving physical activity levels and aerobic endurance.
Methods: This study used a pre- and post- test intervention design involving 11 participants from one enterprise. The target population consisted of office employees engaged in sedentary work for a minimum of 40 hours per week. At baseline, participants completed the IPAQ and assessments of the 6-Minute Walk Test and blood pressure measurements. Following baseline assessments, participants took part in a 21-day intervention programme tailored to their assigned group. Participants attended in-person exercise sessions three times per week. Each session lasted approximately 30 minutes and followed a structured format. The exercise programme primarily included: a 10-minute warm-up phase consisting mainly of aerobic exercises; a main part, which included approximately 10 functional mobility exercises, four strength exercises, five core stability exercises targeting deep trunk muscles; a 10-minute cool-down phase, focused primarily on stretching exercises suitable for the office environment. Upon completion of the active intervention phase, a three-month follow-up period was implemented, during which participants received ongoing support and supervision, but no additional structured interventions. Participation in the study was voluntary. Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the RSU Ethics Committee. This research was funded by the framework of the Plan of the European Union Recovery and Resilience Facility and the State Budget Grant RSU/LSPA-PA-2024/1-0013.
Results: After-intervention results show that time spent sitting decreased by 13.5 hours, but the time employees reported spending walking during the previous week increased by 39 minutes. These findings suggest the formation of healthier lifestyle behaviours among participants.
Conclusion: The findings provide insights into the potential benefits of integrating physical activity programmes into the workday. In addition, the study explores the feasibility and acceptability of implementing such interventions in real-world office settings
Developing a Chinese Version of “Lifestyle Integrated Functional Exercise” (CLiFE) as a Falls Prevention Intervention Programme: A Qualitative Component of a Mixed-Methods Study
Full text linkPurpose: This qualitative study aimed to identify perceptions and acceptability among older Chinese adults in the United Kingdom (UK) of an adapted lifestyle-integrated exercise (aLiFE) programme, which seamlessly integrates balance and strength exercises into daily routines (e.g. doing one-leg stands while brushing teeth). This is part of a complex intervention, developing and evaluating a Chinese version of this falls prevention intervention (CLiFE).
Method: Three sets of individual semi-structured interviews (partners: researcher, community leader, Tai Chi expert) and three focus groups (18 older Chinese adults (64–84) who live in the UK) were conducted to explore perceptions and acceptability of the adapted lifestyle-integrated exercise programme (aLiFE). Results of thematic analysis led to development of a draft adapted CLiFE programme. The draft is being co-designed further in workshops with older Chinese people and other partners.
Results: Preliminary analysis identifies three key themes: current activity level and status, perception of cultural adaptation of movements, and perceptions of data collection methods. These findings provide evidence and valuable insights for the development of the CLiFE programme. Cultural modifications of aLiFE to develop CLiFE using co-design methods will be based on these findings.
Conclusion: Findings indicated a high level of acceptance of aLiFE programme among older Chinese people in the UK, but the intervention needs cultural modification. Based on qualitative results and co-design workshops, a culturally adapted version, CLiFE, will be developed and tested within a future pre-post feasibility study with follow-up interviews.
Support/Funding Source: This study is self-funded by the main researcher
Patterns of Psychosocial Work Environments and Their Association With Exercise Frequency and Self-Rated Health in 32,938 Swedish Employees: A Latent Profile Analysis
Full text linkPurpose: Poor psychosocial work environments have been associated with adverse lifestyle factors, with a possible variation in the association for different patterns of work environments. The aim of this study was to investigate naturally occurring patterns of psychosocial work environment, and how these patterns are associated with exercise frequency and self-rated health.
Methods: This study applied an observational, cross-sectional design, using data from 32,938 individuals participating in health assessments at work conducted between 2015 and 2022 by occupational health services in Sweden. The participants’ perceived work environment, exercise frequency, and self-rated health were obtained through questionnaires. A latent profile analysis was performed on z-scores of four indicators of psychosocial work environment, 1) influence of, and interest in, work tasks, 2) leadership of closest manager, 3) perception of workgroup, and 4) stress and recovery during the workday. The associations between the profiles and dichotomised variables of exercise frequency and self-rated health were investigated using logistic regression.
Results: Four profiles were identified, ranging from the least to the most beneficial psychosocial work environments. In the logistic regression analyses, individuals in more beneficial psychosocial work environments had a higher odds ratio (OR) of being regular exercisers compared to those with the least beneficial work environment, OR (95% confidence interval) for second least to most beneficial profiles: OR = 1.16 (1.06–1.26), OR = 1.36 (1.24–1.49), OR = 1.36 (1.23–1.49), after adjusting for sex, age, education level, and calendar year. Similarly, a higher OR of reporting very good or good health was observed for individuals in all profiles, compared to the least beneficial profile, OR (95% CI) for second least to most beneficial profiles: OR = 1.74 (1.60–1.90), OR = 3.03 (2.78–3.32), OR = 4.06 (3.70–4.46).
Conclusion: Individuals rating a higher psychosocial work environment displayed a higher odds ratio for exercising regularly and having better self-rated health, compared to those with lower-rated psychosocial work environment. When implementing sustainable health-promotive initiatives focusing on lifestyle factors at the workplace, it may be important to also consider variations in the employees’ psychosocial work environment.
Support/Funding Source: The Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life, and Welfare (Grant No. 2023-01126)