Background: Physical inactivity is a significant public health concern,
with many adults failing to meet the Canadian physical activity (PA)
guideline of 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA per week.
Insufficient PA is linked to chronic diseases, including cardiovascular
disease, diabetes, and mental health disorders. Traditional PA
interventions often lack adaptability to the complex and changing needs
of adults, limiting their long-term effectiveness.
Just-In-Time Adaptive Interventions (JITAIs) are innovative, scalable
solutions that leverage real-time data from wearable devices and mobile
apps to adjust the timing, content, and delivery of interventions
dynamically. By providing timely and personalized support, JITAIs can
address barriers such as work schedules, family responsibilities, and
fluctuating motivation, making them particularly well-suited for adult
populations.Objectives: 1) To co-design a 10-week JITAI for adults to promote PA,
incorporating input from participants and stakeholders, and 2) to examine
the feasibility (i.e., recruitment, retention, acceptability, and engagement)
of delivering the intervention.
Methods: This single-arm, pre- and post-intervention study recruited
adults who did not meet Canadian PA guidelines. The co-design process
involved iterative feedback from participants to ensure the intervention
addressed real-world needs. The JITAI delivers weekly content and
integrates "just-in-time" adaptations based on real-time PA behaviors
tracked via smartwatches. Feasibility outcomes include recruitment and
retention rates, acceptability (via surveys and interviews), and
engagement metrics (app usage data).
Results: The co-design process, involving researchers and end users, has
been successfully completed. This collaboration led to the development
of a preliminary mobile app that delivers tailored exercise
recommendations based on user motivation, tracked behaviors, and
contextual factors. The intervention is grounded in the Multi-Process
Action-Control(M-PAC)framework,whichemphasizesbehavioralregulation,identity,andhabitformationtopromotesustainedPAengagement.JITAIs,combinedwiththeM-PACframework,offeruniqueadvantagesbyprovidingflexible,real-timesupportthatadaptsdynamicallytousers'changingneeds.ThisapproachaddresseskeybarrierstoPA,suchasfluctuatingmotivationandcompetingpriorities,whilepromotinglong-termadherencethroughidentityandhabitformation.Preliminaryfindingshighlighttheintervention'susabilityandrelevance,aswellasitspotentialtomeetthediverseneedsofadults.Datacollectionisongoing.Feasibilityoutcomes,includingrecruitment,retention,engagementmetrics,andparticipantfeedback,willbepresentedattheconference.Conclusions:Thisstudywillprovidecriticalevidenceonthefeasibilityofco-designingandimplementingJITAIstpromotePAamongadults.Thesefindingswillinformfuturelarge-scaletrialsandcontributetothegrowingevidenceforJITAIsasaninnovativesolutiontoaddressphysicalinactivity.