Participants stories about long-term achievement 60-months after attending a Healthy Life Centre programme (the VEND-RISK study) - a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Experiences of long-term achievement in participants attending programs for changing health habits including diet and physical activity interventions aiming for weight reduction is lacking. This study aimed to explore how participants experienced their own achievement of healthy habits 60 months after attending a Healthy Life Centre programme in the Norwegian primary healthcare. METHODS: An explorative qualitative design with an inductive approach was employed. Individual semi-structured interviews were performed with 20 participants attending a Healthy Life Centre programme 60 months ago. They were aged 30–72 years, and 55% were females. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically using systematic text condensation. RESULTS: Two main themes emerged from the interviews with three subthemes each. The first theme “Changes over time” includes “Nutritional changes”, “Physical activities adjusted to own presumptions” and “Health habits incorporated into life with manageable goals”. The second theme “Barriers to fulfil changes” includes ”Life circumstances with health issues influences the continuity to adjust to changes”, “a busy everyday life” and “a lack of external drive when not having commitment to the Healthy Life Centre”. CONCLUSIONS: Focusing on changes adjusted to participants' own everyday lives and having an approach with small goals can facilitate long-term changes in health habits.