The “Rehabilitation, Sports and Active lifestyle” (ReSpAct) study is a multicenter longitudinal cohort study. The purpose of the ReSpAct study is to evaluate a tailored counseling program in inpatients and outpatients in the Dutch rehabilitation care. The program that will be evaluated is called ‘Revalidatie, Sport en Bewegen’ (English: ‘Rehabilitation, Sports and Exercise’, RSE). The program aims to stimulate an active lifestyle during and after the rehabilitation period in people with a physical disability and/or chronic disease. Simultaneously with the evaluation of the RSE program at patient level, a process evaluation will be carried out on the process of implementation of the program in Dutch rehabilitation care.
Objectives of the ReSpAct study
The main objectives of the research project ReSpAct are:
- To gain more insight in the possible dose-response associations between the RSE program and the physical activity behavior of the patients.
- To gain more insight in the underlying mechanisms of the RSE program.
- To monitor the process of implementation of the RSE program within Dutch rehabilitation care.
- To perform an economic evaluation of the RSE program.
Rehabilitation, Sports and Exercise (RSE) program
The physical activity and sports stimulation RSE program aims to stimulate an active lifestyle in persons with a physical disability and/or chronic disease subsequent to their rehabilitation period. As part of the RSE program an active lifestyle is stimulated during the rehabilitation period. Sports and exercise are an integrated part of the rehabilitation treatment. In addition, before discharge from rehabilitation, the patient is referred to the Sports Desk to receive an individual consultation with a sports counselor. Following this first consultation and after discharge, the patient will also receive four telephone counseling calls. With these consultations, the counselor will guide and support the patient to maintain an active lifestyle in the home setting. The counselors use tailored counseling based on motivational interviewing (MI).
Study design
Both the RSE program and the ReSpAct study are implemented in 12 rehabilitation centers and 6 departments of rehabilitation in general hospitals in The Netherlands. 2000 participants of the RSE program will be recruited in the ReSpAct study. Subjects will be followed during and after the program using questionnaires. Program outcomes will be assessed on both short term and up to one year after discharge from rehabilitation.
In order to monitor and evaluate the process of the adoption, implementation and continuation of the RSE program in the participating organizations, a combination of qualitative (focus groups and semi-structured interviews) and quantitative (online registration system and questionnaires) methods will be used.
Contact
The ReSpAct study is performed by the ReSpAct research team:
- Rolinde Alingh, MSc. (PhD student)
- Femke Hoekstra, MSc. (PhD student)
- F. Hettinga, PhD
- R. Dekker, PhD
- Professor C.P. van der Schans, PhD
- Professor L.H.V. van der Woude, PhD
E-mail: mail@respact.nl