SITless: Exercise Referral Schemes enhanced by Self-Management Strategies to battle sedentary behaviour

In a first stage, a systematic review, focus groups and a feasibility study will be conducted. Then, a three-armed pragmatic randomized controlled trial (RCT) will assess the long-term effectiveness of a complex intervention on sedentary behaviour (SB) in an elderly population, based on existing ERS enhanced by self-management strategies (SMS). It will be compared to ERS alone and to general recommendations.
The RCT will include 1138 subjects and will have a follow up of 18 months. The effect on SB will be measured as activity daily counts per minute and physical function. Secondary outcomes will include: healthcare use and costs, self-rated health and quality of life, mortality, morbidity, disability, institutionalization, mental health, social capital, sarcopenia and safety parameters. SITless will assess policy makers in deciding how or whether ERS should be further implemented or restructured in order to increase its adherence, efficacy and cost-effectiveness.