<p>Submission form oral or poster presentation ARPH</p><p>Please keep formatting clear (no bullets, bold, italic etc)</p><p>Title (MAXIMUM 15 words)</p><p>‘Join the walk?’: how to develop a walking program for people with mental disorders?</p><p>Author(s) details (First name(s) followed by surname(s); Institution of Affiliation; Address; Email.</p><p>Jari Vanroy, Jan Seghers & Filip Boen; KU Leuven, Department of Kinesiology; Tervuursevest 101, 3001 Leuven; [email protected]</p><p>Abstract (MAXIMUM 250 words)</p><p>Background: Walking seems a promising strategy for improving physical activity (PA), physical fitness (PF) and variables related to mental health. A structured walking program in collaboration with a sociocultural organization has been shown valuable in practice and for research ends in a population of elderly. We want to investigate whether such a real-life intervention can be combined with scientific research in a population of people with mental disorders too. This project consists of a collaboration between centers acquainted to the Flemish Federation for Sport and Recreation in Mental Health Care (real-life) on one hand and KU Leuven (research) on the other.</p><p>Methods: 12 centers started participation as an intervention group, 5 as a control group. We used questionnaires (PA-level, mental health and other psychological variables), a diary (PA and program- compliance) and a six minute walk test (PF) as measurement tools. Informal discussions with participants and monitors provided additional qualitative information.</p><p>Findings: Regarding both the real-life intervention as the scientific research, most components could be integrated if the center monitors were able to adapt these components to the center culture and assist individuals who experienced problems. Discussion: A combination of a real-life intervention with a scientific research is feasible and can be mutually beneficial in the population of people with mental disorders but specific considerations are required. It seems that monitors play an important role as they already have a band with participants and possess culture- and individual-specific knowledge.</p><p>Preference for oral or poster presentation?</p><p>O oral</p><p>O poster</p><p>Which one of the following topics best describes the topic of your abstract?</p><p>O health-related quality of life and wellbeing</p><p>O pain and somatic symptoms</p><p>O self-regulation in health and illness</p><p>O coping and adjustment to (chronic) illness</p><p>O interventions in chronic disease </p><p>O stress and occupational health</p><p>O psychophysiology and psychoneuroimmunology </p><p>O cognitive bias and implicit cognition </p><p>O health behavior changes</p><p>O public health and health promotion</p><p>O social support and interpersonal processes</p><p>O patient-provider interaction (PPI)</p><p>O pediatric psychology and health</p><p>O ageing and health in elderly persons</p><p>O psycho-trauma and grief</p>