FitSkills- Community-based physical activity programme

12 week community gym exercise programme. Twice weekly gym sessions for 60 minutes. Peer support provided by a third level healthcare student from host university. Standardised exercise programme developed by gym staff with support from the investigators. Goals and preferences of participants considered in programme development. This is the only intervention and there is no additional intervention provided

Participant recruitment (reach) will be assessed by the number of individuals who express interest in the study and the proportion who are eligible and enrolled.

Additional descriptive data will be collected on recruitment, including the number of enquiries and completed expressions of interest, how participants heard about the study (e.g., healthcare professional referral, flyer, or other sources), eligibility outcomes (number eligible, number excluded, and reasons for exclusion), and basic demographic characteristics (age, gender, disability type, and location) of individuals expressing interest.

Adoption will be assessed by the number and proportion of healthcare and physical activity professionals who are invited and agree to support implementation of the intervention.

Additional descriptive data will be collected on professional characteristics (e.g., profession, service type, public or private service, and service location) and reasons for non-participation (e.g., work capacity constraints or lack of interest).

Intervention feasibility will be assessed by the proportion of participant pairs who complete the programme at 12 weeks.

Additional descriptive data will be collected, including the number of pairs successfully matched (young people and student mentors), the number attending the group orientation session, and participant engagement (e.g., use of the challenge board).

Fidelity to programme content and adverse events will be monitored and recorded using exercise log-books.

Feasibility will be assessed using the Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM), completed by healthcare and physical activity professionals following completion of their involvement in implementation.

The FIM is a 4-item scale assessing perceived feasibility (e.g., whether the programme is possible, practical, and easy to implement), with responses rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from completely disagree to completely agree.

Exercise self-efficacy will be assessed using the Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale, completed by young people with childhood-onset physical disability.

The scale consists of 10 items assessing confidence in engaging in physical activity, with responses rated on a 4-point Likert scale (not at all true, rarely true, sometimes true, always true). Total scores range from 10 to 40, with higher scores indicating greater exercise self-efficacy.