Intervention description
The WHPP was developed by a German private-sector company to increase HEPA and HRQOL in employees and was held in-person at a wellness hotel in the district of Hof, Bavaria, Germany. The program of this WHPP was delivered over a period of 3 weeks by three exercise therapists, a physician and a psychologist, with a maximum of 60 participants per program. The intervention content of the WHPP is reported in accordance with the behaviour change technique taxonomy of Michie et al. [At the start of the WHPP, the physician conducted a 60-minute initial physical examination and consultation to determine the health status and to advise on PA intensity as well as exercise session content in cooperation with the exercise therapist and the participant. Among other things, this medical screening served to inform participants about health consequences and to set personalised participative HEPA behavioural goals for the intervention period. The participants received a printed summary of the physical examination, which displayed e. g. blood pressure and triglycerides as well as the goals for HEPA during the intervention determined amongst others by physical working capacity test. On the next day, the exercise therapists introduced the participants to the indoor, outdoor and water aerobic exercise facilities in three 90-minute sessions and the participants took part in one 90-minute workshop focusing on the connection between PA and health, which was run by the physician. These sessions provided the participants with instructions and demonstrations of exercise behaviour and basic knowledge of HEPA.Over the following 15 days, the participants followed a structured program, which comprised a 45-minute running or walking workout in the morning and a 90-minute exercise session after breakfast, both guided by the exercise therapists. The psychologist delivered a 90-minute relaxation technique session (e.g. autogenous training) or HEPA workshop after lunch. In the evening, the participants could voluntarily spend their leisure-time in the wellness clinic facilities or attend the psychologist’s presentations on the relationship between mental health and PA. The exercise therapists ran guided hiking trips for the participants near the wellness clinic twice a week in the afternoons over the course of the WHPP. There were no sessions on the three Sundays during the WHPP but the training facilities were accessible to all individuals. Participants focused on learning different types of HEPA (e.g. nordic walking, swimming, functional training) depending on their personal preferences and medical profile. Furthermore, they received information on the current state of knowledge with respect to biomechanics, behavioural psychology and exercise science. This phase of the WHPP was shaped by the participants’ behavioural practice with respect to HEPA, feedback on HEPA behaviour and instruction to self-monitor HEPA behaviour by the exercise therapists, as well as social support from other participants. This process was supported by the combination of theoretical and practical intervention components as well as by an interprofessional approach, which included HEPA and HRQOL from a psychological, medical and exercise science perspective [In the last week, the physician conducted a second physical examination to screen changes in the participants’ medical profile (e.g. blood pressure and trigylcerides) and to set participative goals for maintaining HEPA after completion of the WHPP. The physicians and exercise therapists gave instructions for the participants’ goal setting and action planning as well as problem solving strategies. Furthermore, the participants refined HEPA behaviour implementation intentions in workshops with the exercise therapist and psychologist on the last 2 days of the WHPP. This phase of the WHPP focused on transferring HEPA behaviour change into the participants’ daily lives, so that HEPA behaviour could be maintained. The entire curriculum, material overview and WHPP schedule can be accessed by contacting the corresponding author.