Purpose: To examine primary care providers' (PCPs) physical activity assessment and recommendation behaviors for adults with arthritis. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: 2018 DocStyles online national market research survey of US physicians and nurse practitioners. Sample: 1,389 PCPs seeing adults with arthritis. Measures: 2 independent behaviors (assessment and recommendation) as 3 non-mutually exclusive groups: “always assesses,” “always recommends,” and “both” (“always assesses and recommends”). Analysis: Calculated percentages of each group (overall and by PCP characteristics), and multivariable-adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs) using binary logistic regression. Results: Among PCPs, 49.2% always assessed and 57.7% always recommended physical activity; 39.7% did both. Across all 3 groups, percentages were highest for seeing ≥20 adults with arthritis weekly (“both”: 56.4%; “always assesses”: 66.7%; “always recommends”: 71.3%) and lowest among obstetrician/gynecologists (“both”: 26.9%; “always assesses”: 36.8%; “always recommends”: 40.7%). Multivariable-adjusted associations were strongest for seeing ≥20 adults with arthritis weekly (referent: 1-9 adults) and each of “always assesses” (PR = 1.5 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.3−1.8] and “both” (PR = 1.6 [95% CI: 1.4−1.9]). Conclusions: Approximately 40% of PCPs sampled always engaged in both behaviors (assessing and recommending physical activity) with adults with arthritis; seeing a high volume of adults with arthritis was consistently related to engaging in each behavior. Evidence-based approaches to support PCP counseling include offering provider education and training, raising awareness of available resources, and using health system supports.
An explorative qualitative study on acceptability of physical activity assessment instruments among primary care professionals in southern Sydney
