Proactive automatised lifestyle intervention (PAL) in general hospital patients: study protocol of a single-group trial

INTRODUCTION: The co-occurrence of health risk behaviours (HRBs, ie, tobacco smoking, at-risk alcohol use, insufficient physical activity and unhealthy diet) increases the risks of cancer, other chronic diseases and mortality more than additively; and applies to more than half of adult general populations. However, preventive measures that target all four HRBs and that reach the majority of the target populations, particularly those persons most in need and hard to reach are scarce. Electronic interventions may help to efficiently address multiple HRBs in healthcare patients. The aim is to investigate the acceptance of a proactive and brief electronic multiple behaviour change intervention among general hospital patients with regard to reach, retention, equity in reach and retention, satisfaction and changes in behaviour change motivation, HRBs and health. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A pre–post intervention study with four time points is conducted at a general hospital in Germany. All patients, aged 18–64 years, admitted to participating wards of five medical departments (internal medicine A and B, general surgery, trauma surgery, ear, nose and throat medicine) are systematically approached and invited to participate. Based on behaviour change theory and individual HRB profile, 175 participants receive individualised and motivation-enhancing computer-generated feedback at months 0, 1 and 3. Intervention reach and retention are determined by the proportion of participants among eligible patients and of participants who continue participation, respectively. Equity in reach and retention are measured with regard to school education and other sociodemographics. To investigate satisfaction with the intervention and subsequent changes, a 6-month follow-up is conducted. Descriptive statistics, multivariate regressions and latent growth modelling are applied. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The local ethics commission and data safety appointee approved the study procedures. Results will be disseminated via publication in international scientific journals and presentations on scientific conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05365269.