BACKGROUND: The escalating global prevalence of type 2 diabetes and prediabetes presents a major public health challenge. Physical activity plays a critical role in managing (pre)diabetes; however, adherence to physical activity recommendations remains low. The ENERGISED trial was designed to address these challenges by integrating mHealth tools into the routine practice of general practitioners, aiming for a significant, scalable impact in (pre)diabetes patient care through increased physical activity and reduced sedentary behaviour.
METHODS: The mHealth intervention for the ENERGISED trial was developed according to the mHealth development and evaluation framework, which includes the active participation of (pre)diabetes patients. This iterative process encompasses four sequential phases: (a) conceptualisation to identify key aspects of the intervention; (b) formative research including two focus groups with (pre)diabetes patients (n = 14) to tailor the intervention to the needs and preferences of the target population; (c) pre-testing using think-aloud patient interviews (n = 7) to optimise the intervention components; and (d) piloting (n = 10) to refine the intervention to its final form.
RESULTS: The final intervention comprises six types of text messages, each embodying different behaviour change techniques. Some of the messages, such as those providing interim reviews of the patients\' weekly step goal or feedback on their weekly performance, are delivered at fixed times of the week. Others are triggered just in time by specific physical behaviour events as detected by the Fitbit activity tracker: for example, prompts to increase walking pace are triggered after 5 min of continuous walking; and prompts to interrupt sitting following 30 min of uninterrupted sitting. For patients without a smartphone or reliable internet connection, the intervention is adapted to ensure inclusivity. Patients receive on average three to six messages per week for 12 months. During the first six months, the text messaging is supplemented with monthly phone counselling to enable personalisation of the intervention, assistance with technical issues, and enhancement of adherence.
CONCLUSIONS: The participatory development of the ENERGISED mHealth intervention, incorporating just-in-time prompts, has the potential to significantly enhance the capacity of general practitioners for personalised behavioural counselling on physical activity in (pre)diabetes patients, with implications for broader applications in primary care.

BACKGROUND: Although remote dietary counselling practices have increased in the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not known which method is more effective. This study aimed to determine the effect of diet counselling by phone or video on weight loss and to compare it with the traditional follow-up method.
METHODS: Forty-six participants living with obesity were randomised into the phone counselling (n = 15), video counselling (n = 15), and traditional follow-up groups (n = 16), and were followed for 10 weeks. The anthropometric measurements, quality-of-life questionnaire (SF-36) scores and total calorie/macronutrient intakes were recorded and compared at baseline and at the end of the study.
RESULTS: In the phone counselling, video counselling and traditional follow-up groups body weight (-4.8 ± 0.9, -5.7 ± 1.8 and -3.3 ± 0.8 kg, respectively) and SF-36 general health scores (14.2 ± 4.2, 15.9 ± 3.6 and 10.2 ± 3.7, respectively) of the participants changed significantly compared to baseline (group × time interaction, p < 0.05). The change in the body weight and SF-36 general health score was more in the phone counselling and video counselling groups relative to the traditional follow-up group (group × time interaction, p < 0.01). The highest decrease in total calorie (-301.4 ± 112.2 kcal) and carbohydrate (-26.6 ± 11.2 g) intake was in the video counselling group compared to the other groups (group × time interaction, p < 0.01).
CONCLUSIONS: Video counselling and phone counselling were effective in weight loss in the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to maintain remote dietary counselling practices to support weight management when face-to-face meetings are not possible.

Healthy behavior is an essential component in type 2 diabetes (T2D) management. Promoting healthy lifestyle is one of the priorities of primary health care in Oman. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-component intervention in promoting physical activity (PA) and healthy diet and its implications on body mass index and glycemic control in adults with diabetes attending primary care.
A one year 1:1 cluster randomized controlled trial will be utilized to compare the use of phone consultations, a multi component interactive phone application and pedometers with the usual diabetes care on promoting PA and healthy diet. Participants will be screened for inactivity and should be T2D, aged18-65 years, and overweight or obese. Eight primary centers will be randomly selected in each arm (n = 375). The primary outcome is the between arms differences in PA and diet scores, BMI and HbA1c over 12 months from baseline. Additionally, secondary outcomes will include cardiovascular outcomes (BP, and lipids). The trial has received ethical approval from the Omani Research and Ethical Review and Approval Committee. All eligible participants will be invited to their respected health centers to provide informed consent.
This study will contribute to the integration of healthy lifestyle approach using artificial intelligence to primary diabetes care. Results from this study will be disseminated through workshops, policy briefs, and peer-reviewed publications, local and international conferences.
Trial registration number ISRCTN71889430 . Date applied: 28/11/2020. Date assigned: 01/12/2020.

A survey of UK fertility counsellors\' experiences of the impact on their service, including its availability, during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 received 64 responses. Fifty three respondents had continued to provide a service. Forty now worked from a wholly/substantially different location to normal but many clinics provided no practical support for this (n = 17), or remote access to relevant clinic (n = 17) or client information (n = 12) and twenty five respondents reported reduced multi-disciplinary involvement. Few received regular information updates. Some whose service was stopped (n = 11) abruptly lost income and/or were unsure whether they could or would resume working. Increased remote counselling proved crucial for accessibility and could be effective. Concerns included fatigue, technical and practical challenges, confidentiality, lowered therapeutic effectiveness. Respondents supported patients having choice over how to receive counselling in the future but a third (n = 21) had not been included in such planning. These findings suggest the need for increased involvement and support of fertility counsellors in the event of a future waves, other pandemic or healthcare crisis. More needs to be understood about why clinic responses varied; how to improve the safety and efficacy of remote counselling; and how to accommodate future needs for face-to-face contact.