Effective elements of a combined lifestyle intervention for people with low socioeconomic status. A concept mapping case study

Summary

Health inequalities still exist between people with a low socioeconomic status (SES) and people with a high SES. Combined lifestyle interventions (CLIs) could benefit the health of people with a low SES. However, it is unclear which CLI elements are effective for this group. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effective elements X‑Fittt 2.0, a CLI for people with a low SES. Nine professionals and one participant of X‑Fittt 2.0 participated in a concept mapping (CM) process to develop an overview of the effective elements of X‑Fittt 2.0. CM consists of six steps: preparing, brainstorming, clustering, scoring, analysing, and discussing and interpreting. This process resulted in 72 effective elements, grouped in nine clusters, focused on monitoring (12), internal (7) and external (4) collaborations, structure and guidance (10), agreements with participants (5), sports options in the first 12 weeks (10), the sports environment (10), recruitment strategies (5) and the preconditions for X‑Fittt 2.0 (9). These results provide a valuable first overview of effective elements of CLIs for people with a low SES.