Project HIIT: a co-produced high-intensity interval training intervention for adolescents with intellectual disabilities, underpinned by the 6SQuID framework and the COM-B model of behaviour.

Abstract

Background
People with intellectual disabilities have poorer health outcomes, including increased morbidity and mortality, than the general population. Obesity is more common in this population and impacts upon these health inequalities. Physical activity (PA) is a modifiable risk factor for overweight and obesity. Globally, over 80% adolescents do not meet current PA guidelines and those with intellectual disabilities are less active than their peers without disabilities. Limitations of existing PA interventions in this population include: lacking robust development through utilisation of intervention development frameworks, and/or lacking theoretical underpinnings; and they often fail to consider the unique individual, interperson al and contextual challenges experienced by adolescents with intellectual disabilities, limiting their acceptability and long-term sustainability.

Aim
Guided by the Medical Research Council (MRC) guidelines for the development of complex interventions, the six steps in quality intervention development (6SQuID) framework, and underpinned by the COM-B model of behaviour, this doctoral thesis aimed to address these limitations by working collaboratively with key stakeholders to develop a school-based PA intervention for adolescents with intellectual disabilities.

Methods
A mixed-methods study was conducted through completion of the following objectives:
i) a narrative review of the literature; ii) systematic review of high-intensity interval training in the adolescent population; iii) exploration of the school-based barriers and facilitators of PA; iv) co-production of the PA intervention alongside key stakeholders; and v) field testing of the intervention called ‘Project HIIT’, alongside a process evaluation to test and refine the intervention components.

Results
Through systematic intervention development, guided by established frameworks and behaviour change theories, Project HIIT emerged as a contextually relevant and potentially sustainable school-based PA intervention for adolescents with intellectual disabilities. The process evaluation indicated positive feedback from both students and school staff regarding intervention acceptability, demand, and implementation. Project HIIT warrants further testing within a larger-scale cluster-randomised feasibility study

Date of Award	May 2024
Original language	English
Supervisor	Noel Brick (Supervisor), Stephen Shannon (Supervisor), Laurence Taggart (Supervisor) & Ben Fitzpatrick (Supervisor)