A Single-arm Pilot and Feasibility Study of the CALM Hearts Intervention

Participants will be recruited via phone and email and complete an online written consent form After consenting, participants will complete baseline measures housed on SurveyMonkey (https://www.surveymonkey.com) and will receive a fillable online workbook to complete throughout the intervention. The CALM Hearts intervention will be conducted individually (i.e., one facilitator meeting with one participant) over the phone or via Zoom videoconferencing once per week for three weeks. The intervention facilitator will be a research assistant with training in self-compassion and health psychology. At pre-intervention, participants will complete behavioural and psychological measures (baseline survey). In Session 1 (90 minutes), the facilitator will present report cards outlining each participant's CVD risk factors as determined by their participation in a previous study. Immediately after receiving their risk information, participants will complete an online questionnaire assessing their reactions to the CVD risk report (Session 1 measures). The facilitator will then introduce self-compassion as a tool for coping with CVD risk and adopting health behaviours. Finally, the facilitator will work with participants to set a health behaviour goal for the end of the intervention that follows the SMART goals framework (i.e., Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound). After Session 1, participants will receive a physical copy of their CVD risk report card in the mail. Sessions 2 (60 minutes) and 3 (60 minutes) will apply self-compassion to participants' health behaviours and CVD risk. These sessions will include a lesson on self-compassion, a workbook activity, and a discussion with the facilitator. After Sessions 1 and 2, participants will independently complete self-compassionate writing activities in their workbooks. We will ask participants to report the percentage of workbook activities they finish each week (0 to 100%). One week after Session 3, participants will complete the post-intervention questionnaire and will be debriefed. Participants will be invited to provide feedback about their experiences in the intervention via an open-ended online survey or telephone interview after the intervention concludes. These responses will contribute to assessing intervention acceptability.