Impact of Exercise Groups on Patient Mental Health and Wellbeing in an Acute Psychiatric Inpatient Unit

Summary

More research is needed to elucidate the impacts of physical activity interventions on short- and long-term activity and neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in psychiatric inpatients and to support its advantageousness when compared to current standards of care. To investigate the impact of regular exercise on activity level, NPS, and sleep in an inpatient psychiatry unit, the investigators propose a placebo-controlled study with measures of activity, mood, anxiety, energy, and sleep as primary outcomes in 50 psychiatric inpatients at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Given the challenges of maintaining blinded assignment to treatment arm, the investigators will compare patients during two time periods (3 months each): the first is treatment as usual (TAU), the second adds exercise intervention (EXI).

Conditions

• Psychiatric Hospitalization
• Physical Inactivity
• Depression, Anxiety
• Sleep

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

OT-led Exercise Group

Participants will complete pre-intervention self-report surveys about mood, anxiety, energy, self-esteem, and activity handed out by the research team. At this point, an occupational therapist (OT) will begin 10-minute educational session that describes the purpose of the exercise intervention and methods to remain safe during the intervention such as self-monitoring techniques. Following completion of the educational session, participants will complete a 30-minute exercise intervention under the guidance of the OT, which includes warm-up, high intensity interval training cardio, strength, kick boxing, cool-down, and yoga. Following completion of the exercise regimen, participants will participate in a 10-minute discussion and reflection with the OT and complete post-intervention self-report surveys. Participants in the intervention arm will also receive routine daily occupational therapy educational sessions received by the treatment as usual arm.

BEHAVIORAL

Treatment as Usual - OT Groups

Participants will complete pre-session self-report surveys about mood, anxiety, energy, self-esteem, and activity handed out by the research team. At this point, an occupational therapist (OT) will begin daily educational session about the topic of choice for that day. Treatment groups are largely discussion-based and include the following topics: coping skills, self-esteem, sleep management, leisure, time management, life skills, decision making, and goal setting. Following completion of the educational session, participants will complete post-intervention self-report surveys.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Johns Hopkins University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Matthew E Peters, MD · Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

SEQUENTIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-08-01

Primary Completion

2026-07-31

Completion

2026-12-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations