Usefulness of a Positive Psychology-Motivational Interviewing Intervention to Promote Positive Affect and Physical Activity After an Acute Coronary Syndrome

Most patients are not able to achieve recommended levels of physical activity following an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Existing interventions to promote activity have not focused on promoting psychological well-being, which is independently linked to superior cardiac health. To address this gap, we developed and tested a combined positive psychology-motivational interviewing (PP-MI) intervention in post-ACS patients to assess its feasibility and explore potential benefits in an initial randomized trial. We compared a 12-week, phone-delivered, PP-MI intervention to an attention-matched, MI-based health education control condition among 47 post-ACS patients with low baseline health behavior adherence. Feasibility/acceptability were assessed through rates of session completion and participant session ratings; we also explored between-group differences in positive affect, other self-reported outcomes, and accelerometer-measured physical activity, through mixed effects regression models, at 12 and 24 weeks. PP-MI participants completed a mean of 10.0 (standard deviation 2.2) sessions (84%), and mean participant ratings of sessions' ease/utility were >8/10, above a priori thresholds for success. Compared with the control condition, PP-MI was associated with greater improvements in positive affect at 12 and 24 weeks (12 weeks: estimated mean difference [EMD] = 3.90 [SE = 1.95], p = 0.045, effect size [ES] = 0.56; 24 weeks: EMD = 7.34 [SE = 2.16], p <0.001, ES = 1.12). PP-MI was also associated with more daily steps at 12 weeks (EMD = 1842.1 steps/day [SE = 849.8], p = 0.030, ES = 0.76) and greater moderate-vigorous activity at 24 weeks (EMD = 15.1 minutes/day [SE = 6.8], p = 0.026, ES = 0.81). In conclusion, PP-MI was feasible in post-ACS patients and showed promising effects on well-being and physical activity; additional studies are needed to confirm these findings.