Table 1 Psychological intervention content for each contact with participants

Baseline

Face to face

• Elicit and acknowledge positive and negative experiences and emotions towards physical activity

• Identify the patient’s knowledge regarding the benefits associated with increasing physically active behaviour specific to RA; gear discussions of these benefits to what is personally meaningful to the patient

• Provide additional information requested by the patient

• Encourage reflection on the links between physically active behaviour and personally meaningful life goals or events

• Decisional balance

• Patient centred goal setting

1 month

Telephone

• Support attempts to change behaviour

• Normalize failed attempts to be physically active

• Problem solve to formulate strategies for enhancing self-efficacy

• Elicit solutions to PA barriers

• Revisit goals

2 month

Telephone

• Encourage attempts made to be physically active

• Brainstorm solutions to PA barriers

• Discuss patient goals for last period of programme

3 month

Face to face

• Recognise the internalisation of individual’s PA participation

• Have patients verbalise feelings towards physical activity

• Discuss plans to be physically active in the future

• Information regarding where it is possible to be physically active

5 month

Telephone

• Discuss successful and failed attempts to maintain PA behaviour post exercise-programme