Effect of Counseling for Physical Activity on Movement Behavior in Physically Inactive Individuals: Study Protocol for a Randomized Clinical Trial.
Behavior change, motivation, quality of life, self-determination theory, motivational interview.
Physical Activity Promotion Counseling (PAPC) is a widely used strategy in Primary Health Care (PHC), showing promising results despite some variability. However, few studies have evaluated the combined application of Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Motivational Interviewing (MI) to objectively increase physical activity (PA) levels and reduce sedentary behaviors (SB), considering different intervention intensities (more or less intensive). This article describes the protocol of a randomized clinical trial aimed at analyzing the impact of APAF on PA and SB in physically inactive individuals. A total of 183 participants will be included in this randomized clinical trial, allocated into three groups. The intensive group will participate in one in person session and six remote sessions over three months, with follow-up messages sent throughout. Subsequent sessions in the intensive group will include automated and personalized text messages to strengthen the connection and monitor behavioral changes. The brief group will attend only one in-person session and receive a guidance booklet on PA. The control group will participate only in the evaluations. Evaluations will beconducted at two time points: baseline and three months after the intervention. These will assess physical activity levels and sedentary behavior using accelerometers, as well as explicit attitudes, motivational regulation, and satisfaction of psychological needs in the context of PA through questionnaires. The effects of group-by-time interaction, main time effects, and main group effects will be analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA, with Bonferroni post hoc tests applied. Analyses will be conducted using SPSS version 29.0, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05.