RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 How should family physicians provide physical activity advice?
JF Canadian Family Physician
JO Can Fam Physician
FD The College of Family Physicians of Canada
SP e411
OP e419
VO 65
IS 9
A1 Lindsay Reddeman
A1 Nicole Bourgeois
A1 Emily Nicholas Angl
A1 Mike Heinrich
A1 Leah Hillier
A1 Holly Finn
A1 Beth Bosiak
A1 Payal Agarwal
A1 Robin Mawson
A1 Roni Propp
A1 Noah M. Ivers
YR 2019
UL http://www.cfp.ca/content/65/9/e411.abstract
AB Objective To explore patient attitudes toward interacting with family physicians regarding physical activity in order to inform the development of an e-health intervention aimed at helping family physicians support patients in becoming more physically active.Design Qualitative study.Setting Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, Ont.Participants Ten patients recruited from the academic family practice health centre.Methods Semistructured interviews were conducted with patients using maximum variation sampling until thematic saturation was reached. Interviews explored past experiences and preferences for receiving physical activity advice from family physicians, and tools or techniques that might support increasing physical activity. Interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed, and coded independently by members of the research team before undergoing thematic analysis.Main findings Patient interviews revealed 4 overarching themes that offered insight to physical activity discussions. Family physicians might provide more meaningful and useful physical activity advice to patients by providing individualized recommendations focused on proximal (ie, near-term) health and functional goals; recognizing and addressing unique environmental and social factors influencing physical activity levels; balancing candour and sensitivity in advice provision while incorporating a broad definition of physical activity; and recommending tools that incorporate planning, goal-setting, and goal-monitoring features.Conclusion Ultimately, physical activity recommendations from family physicians cannot make a difference if patients do not act on them. This study elicits input from patients to develop preliminary strategies that might help family physicians provide physical activity advice in a more patient-centred fashion. Further research is needed to test interventions that help implement these strategies and to assess their effect.