Recruitment
RECRUITMENT
Participants were recruited from the Lisbon Metropolitan Area through public advertisements in online newspapers and social media. Participants underwent eligibility screening and assessment at the study centers, which included the Hospital CUF Descobertas and Hospital CUF Infante Santo. Eligible participants were randomly assigned to one of two intervention groups (in a 1:1 ratio) using a computer-generated allocation sequence. The allocation was concealed through sequentially numbered, opaque, sealed envelopes. The allocation sequence was generated by a statistician who was not involved in recruitment or intervention delivery, ensuring that the allocation process was objective and unbiased. To maintain participant masking, the interventions were administered on different schedules, and participants were kept unaware of their assigned interventions.