Empowering people through physical activity: A co-produced research project studying how to improve physical activity for people with severe and enduring mental health problems

People with serious mental health problems have a shorter life expectancy and a higher risk of developing some medical conditions. An empowering programme that increases levels of physical activity may play a role in reducing this mortality gap. This report presents the findings from an exploratory study of a physical activity intervention based in Northern Ireland for people with severe and enduring mental health problems. The project was funded by Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning (DRILL) and employed a co-production approach with people with lived experience of mental health problems, Mental Health Foundation, Queen's University Belfast, Praxis Care, Platinum Training Institute, NI Chest Heart and Stroke and the Northern, South Eastern and Western Recovery Colleges.