CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING A 1 HOUR WEEKLY WALK ACTIVITY AND ASSESSING SELF-ESTEEM WITHIN RESIDENTIAL PSYCHIATRIC CARE.

Abstract

Background: Patients with psychotic disorders often have low levels of physical activity, and there's limited data on implementing exercise programs and systematically evaluating physical health among inpatients. This study, conducted in a closed psychosis unit, aimed to explore the feasibility of a 1-hour weekly walk activity, alongside assessing self-esteem.

Subjects and methods: From February 7 to July 11, 2025, patients at the Gaudi unit in Mons, Belgium, specializing in psychotic disorder care, were offered participation in a weekly supervised walk. Out of 64 evaluated inpatients, eligible individuals could choose between a 3 km or 5 km circuit. The study also planned to assess self-esteem using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and to conduct qualitative analysis upon admission.

Results: Over 24 weeks, the average walk participation rate was 59.86% (255 out of 426 possible participations). Most preferred the 3 km circuit (75.69%), while fewer chose the 5 km (14.9%) or the 8 km combination (9.41%). However, comprehensive assessments (RSES, qualitative evaluation) were only offered to 12 of the 64 patients. Only 6 completed the qualitative evaluation, and 10 completed the RSES. This low assessment completion rate suggests the evaluations might be too challenging for this population.

Conclusion: Implementing a weekly walk activity in a closed psychosis unit is feasible. Nevertheless, integrating a study protocol for comprehensive physical and psychological assessments proved challenging. Future projects would require adapting assessment methods to be more realistic for this setting.