Coach To Activate: Physical and psychosocial determinants of physical activity in patients with neuromusculoskeletal impairments who receive a tailored coaching intervention during and post rehabilitation (Coach To Activate)

The benefits of a physically active lifestyle on physical and mental health are repeatedly and convincingly demonstrated. Physical activity plays a crucial role in the prevention of cardiovascular and other life-threatening diseases.  It is  therefore worrying that physical activity rates tend to be lower than the norm for achieving health benefits, decrease with increasing age and are even lower in persons with neuromusculoskeletal and/or chronic disorders. The early promotion of physical activity (PA) in individuals with musculoskeletal and/or chronic conditions has been shown to be an effective strategy in both the home and rehabilitation settings. In The Netherlands for example, a large scale project in the rehabiliation centers throughout the country proved succesful for long-term PA enhancement. However, the implementation of an evidence-based program to promote PA is not yet included as standard therapy in rehabilitation centers in Flanders. UZ Leuven, campus Pellenberg was one of the rehabilitation centers taking part in a pilot project to include tailored exercise coaching of patients during their rehabilitation. The results of the pilot were promising with more than half of the patients maintaining an active lifestyle one year after discharge. The Coach to Activate project aims to investigate how a tailored coaching intervention to promote active lifestyle can be structurally embedded in the standard therapy of patients during rehabilitation. In the longer term, this can contribute to more efficient and targeted counseling and referral of patients.