RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 “It ... doesn’t always make it [to] the top of the list” JF Canadian Family Physician JO Can Fam Physician FD The College of Family Physicians of Canada SP e14 OP e20 VO 66 IS 1 A1 Meredith B. Christiansen A1 Daniel K. White A1 Jennifer Christian A1 Esther Waugh A1 Natasha Gakhal A1 Lauren King A1 Gillian Hawker A1 Fiona Webster YR 2020 UL http://www.cfp.ca/content/66/1/e14.abstract AB Objective To explore primary care physicians’ (PCPs’) experience with and barriers to prescribing exercise for people with knee osteoarthritis (OA).Design A qualitative descriptive study using semistructured interviews.Setting Ontario.Participants Twelve PCPs recruited from academic and community family health practices.Methods Twelve 30- to 60-minute, one-on-one interviews were conducted using a purposive sampling of PCPs. Data were analyzed using a constant comparison approach.Main findings Of the 12 interviews, 11 were analyzed and organized in relation to the primary finding that PCPs often assigned a low priority both to OA as a disease and to exercise as a treatment. It was discovered that exercise, the main treatment for OA, is often not perceived as a “real” medical treatment; prescribing exercise is perceived as being outside of most PCPs’ scope of practice; and PCPs often account for success or failure of prescribed exercise as being the function of individual patient motivation.Conclusion Although knee OA often affects incidence of and complicates other comorbidities, in general, PCPs consider knee OA to be lower in importance relative to other diseases they manage. Improved awareness of OA and its effect on other chronic conditions might improve uptake of OA treatment, including exercise. If additional guidance on exercise is needed, referring patients to a physiotherapist is a potential solution.