2.3. Procedure
TPB
RECRUITMENT, RECRUITMENT
Potential participants were identified by the researcher by meeting them in different times during their gathering in student’s hall at University. Once eligibility was confirmed, the researcher approached the participants in the university and provided them with study information sheets containing contact details for the researcher. Interested participants then contacted the researcher who arranged a suitable time to take informed consent at the University, following which they were recruited into the study and baseline data collected. Recruited participants were randomized to one of two groups. Randomization was undertaken using prepared opaque sealed envelopes, by a researcher who was not involved in recruitment or the delivery of the intervention. Recruitment and baseline data collection took place between February and April 2017. Outcome data were collected at two time points: baseline (immediately after recruitment) and immediately post-intervention (6 months after randomization; Flow of participants through the study period.The study was a two-group randomized controlled trial (n = 150). A behavioral intervention based on individualized consultations, reminder text messages and Facebook was compared with educational sessions, in terms of the effectiveness of increasing physical activity levels among healthy adults students at Philadelphia University. Having collected baseline data, the patients were randomly allocated to the two groups (the control and intervention group) through a process of opening opaque, sealed sequence envelopes according to the participant’s numbers, which contained the group name. The educational sessions was given to the control group and comprised of lectures covering subjects pertaining to PA’s health advantage, risks from physical inactivity, as well as methods for increasing PA among students. These lectures were given as part of educational sessions on regular basis (one 60 min lecture every month) which include power point presentation about healthy life aspects such as managing of diet, body weight, stress and PA. The intervention was delivered to the intervention group between February and August 2017 by the main researcher (Eman Alsaleh). This to ensure the consistence and fidelity of the intervention to all participants (with respect to length and duration of contacts and extent of advice given). The participants and the researcher who provided the intervention were not blinded to the intervention because the nature of the intervention should be obvious and interactive between them. However, the data analysis were blinded to the data assessors by entering data on the SPSS to the first and second group without knowing groups allocation to the control or intervention group.The intervention involved implementing individualized consultations on a regular basis, namely a single face-to-face individualized consultation with the researcher as well as six telephone call consultations (one call per month). The consultations aimed to analyse the current PA status for every individual, enhance the awareness of PA’s advantages, identify and improve the facilitators of PA, diminish barriers to PA, facilitate social support, as well as strengthen self-efficacy. The tailored consultation sought to assist participants with integrating a moderate level of physical activity into their daily routine, for example through performing brisk walking for 30 min daily for a minimum of 5 days per week, or 10,000 steps or more daily, using a bracelet pedometer to count their steps.These consultations were augmented with motivational SMS text messages reminders (one SMS weekly) sent to participants via their mobile phones and on the Facebook page (Let us Walk) over the 6-month period. The types of messages sent included; (a) reminding participants to attain their goals through increasing their PA to the required level; (b) encouraging participants to resolve their PA obstacles through providing them with examples about ways to overcome barriers to PA; (c) encouraging participants to maintain PA over a long period; (d) strengthening participants’ intentions to undertake PA based on theory of planned behavior (TPB); this included statements to enhance participants’ attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavior control.Social cognitive theory (