scholarly journals Are we missing opportunities? Physiotherapy and physical activity promotion: a cross-sectional survey

Author(s):  
Nicole Freene ◽  
Sophie Cools ◽  
Bernie Bissett
Author(s):  
Conor Cunningham ◽  
Roger O’Sullivan

Healthcare professionals have a key role in promoting physical activity, particularly among populations at greatest risk of poor health due to physical inactivity. This research aimed to develop our understanding of healthcare professionals knowledge, decision making and routine practice of physical activity promotion with older adults. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with practicing healthcare professionals in general practice, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and nursing in Ireland and Northern Ireland. We received 347 eligible responses, with 70.3% of all respondents agreeing that discussing physical activity is their job and 30.0% agreeing that they have received suitable training to initiate conversations with patients about physical activity. Awareness of the content and objectives of national guidelines for physical activity varied considerably across the health professions surveyed. Less than a third of respondents had a clear plan on how to initiate discussions about physical activity in routine practice with older adults. Assessment of physical activity was not routine, neither was signposting to physical activity supports. Considering the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications, 81.6% of all respondents agreed that healthcare professionals can play an increased role in promoting physical activity to older adults as part of routine practice. Appropriate education, training and access to resources are essential for supporting healthcare professionals promotion of physical activity in routine practice. Effective physical activity promotion in healthcare settings has the potential for health benefits at a population level, particularly in older adult populations.


2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 563-571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Antonio Florindo ◽  
Emanuel Péricles Salvador ◽  
Rodrigo Siqueira Reis

Background:The environment has a great influence on people’s lifestyles and their capacity to choose healthy habits. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between perceived environment and physical activity among adults living in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.Methods:This was a cross-sectional population-based study conducted with 890 people age 18 years or over. Physical activity was measured through the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ; long version) and perceived environment was evaluated using the Neighborhood Walkability Scale (NEWS) adapted. Poisson’s regression was used for statistical analyses and prevalence ratios were calculated. The outcome variable was the attainment of at least 150 minutes per week of physical activities. The independent variables consisted of perceived environment variables and control variables (sex, age, schooling, time living in the home, and number of cars per household).Results:The perceived environment variables that explained physical activity were: receiving invitations from friends for activities (P = .012), low environmental pollution scores (p trend = 0.030) and high general safety scores (P-trend = 0.039).Conclusions:These results suggest that physical activity promotion in regions like this should be envisaged as a complex phenomenon and investments in public safety, prevention and combating of environmental pollution and social support networks are needed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-19
Author(s):  
Nepha Musonda ◽  
◽  
Micah Mutuna Simpamba ◽  

Background:Physiotherapists are better placed to spearhead health promoting activities by encouraging health enhancing lifestyles as part of their practice. This study reviews health promotion practices of Physiotherapists in African countries in order to identify gaps and make recommendations to improve the health promotion practices. Methods:This narrative review was developed from a literature review of previous studies on health promotion practices among physiotherapists in Africa, which were published in English from the years 2010-2020, retrieved from Google Scholar and PubMed. Only articles that focused on health promotion, physical activity, practices, Physiotherapy and Africa were included.Results:Nine (9) studies met the inclusion criteria for this review. Five (5) studies were from Nigeria while one study each from Rwanda, South Africa, Ghana and Ethiopia. Most studies reviewed used quantitative cross-sectional surveys. The focus of these studies were mainly exploring Physiotherapists’ knowledge, attitude and practices towards health promotion and physical activity promotion. Others looked at Physiotherapy practices with regards to counseling, risk factor assessment and interventions as well as perceived barriers and educational needs. Conclusion: It is evident that there is little research done on health promotion practices among Physiotherapists in African countries. There is need to conduct more studies in this area in order to identify the challenges and improve the health promotion practices among Physiotherapy practitioners in the region.


1999 ◽  
Vol 2 (1a) ◽  
pp. 97-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
BM Margetts ◽  
E Rogers ◽  
K Widhal ◽  
A-M Remaut de Winter ◽  
H-JF Zunft

AbstractObjectiveTo explore the factors that influence attitudes and beliefs about the effects of body weight and physical activity on health.DesignCross-sectional survey using a face-to-face interview-assisted questionnaire.SettingThe survey was conducted between March and April 1997 in the 15 member states of the EU.SubjectsApproximately 1000 adults aged 15 years plus from each country were selected by quota-controlled sampling; the total sample was of 15 239 persons (7162 males and 8077 females). Data were weighted by population size for each country and by age, gender and regional distribution within countries.ResultsOverall 27% of men and 35% of women reported not engaging in any form of recreational activity; rates were highest in those with a primary-level education (37% men, 43% women) compared with tertiary-level education (20% men, 25% women). Recreational activity levels declined with age and tended to be lowest in those who were more physically active at work. Eighteen per cent of respondents believed that physical activity was one of the two greatest influences on health; 13% mentioned body weight, 38% mentioned food, 41% mentioned smoking and 33% mentioned stress. Logistic regression was used to assess for the effects of gender, age, educational level, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, activity level and country on beliefs that body weight and physical activity influenced health. Primary-educated, overweight, ex- and non-smoking women were most likely to mention body weight as an influence; young tertiary-educated, thinner, non-smoking and active males were most likely to mention physical activity. There was wide variation across Europe in reported behaviour and beliefs, which persisted after taking account of all of the other factors in the regression model.ConclusionsRelatively few people in some countries believed body weight and physical activity were important influences on health. Many people mentioned stress and it might be possible to use this interest to motivate changes in physical activity to relieve stress. It may be important to take a more integrated approach to activity patterns that consider the role of work and recreation. Although social and demographic factors were important, after adjusting for these factors there was still wide between-country variation in reported attitudes, beliefs and behaviour. This will need to be taken into account in any activity promotion campaigns.


2019 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 172-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Fernandez ◽  
Craig Moore ◽  
Andreas Eklund ◽  
Michael Swain ◽  
Katie de Luca ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly A. Cotter

Despite the disease prevention benefits of engaging in life-long regular physical activity, many adults remain sedentary. The social environment provides an important context for health and health behavior across the lifespan, as well as a potential point of intervention for increasing physical activity. Self-reports of perceived social support, social strain, positive social control, and negative social control were examined for their cross-sectional relationships to physical activity frequency in purposive samples of younger and older adults (N=371, ages from 18 to 97, 68% women). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that perceived support and perceived strain were not correlated with physical activity. However, age and sex interacted with social control, such that more positive social control was associated with more frequent physical activity for younger men. Furthermore, more positive and negative social control were significantly associated with less frequent physical activity for older men, while social control was not associated with physical activity among women. While younger men may be encouraged toward healthier behaviors by positive social control messages, social control attempts may backfire when targeting older men. Implications for physical activity promotion are discussed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (12) ◽  
pp. 577-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soohyun Nam ◽  
MinKyoung Song ◽  
Soo-Jeong Lee

Nurses have a high prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms from patient handling tasks such as lifting, transferring, and repositioning. Comorbidities such as musculoskeletal symptoms may negatively affect engagement in leisure-time physical activity (LTPA). However, limited data are available on the relationship between musculoskeletal symptoms and LTPA among nurses. The purpose of this study was to describe musculoskeletal symptoms and LTPA, and to examine the relationships of musculoskeletal symptoms, sociodemographics, and body mass index with LTPA among nurses. Cross-sectional data on sociodemographics, employment characteristics, musculoskeletal symptoms, body mass index, and LTPA were collected from a statewide random sample of 454 California nurses from January to July 2013. Descriptive statistics, bivariate and multiple logistic regressions were performed. We observed that non-White nurses were less likely to engage in regular aerobic physical activity than White nurses (odds ratio [OR] = 0.61; 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.40, 0.94]). Currently working nurses were less likely to engage in regular aerobic physical activity than their counterparts (OR = 0.48; 95% CI = [0.25, 0.91]). Nurses with higher body mass index were less likely to perform regular aerobic physical activity (OR = 0.93; 95% CI = [0.89, 0.97]) or muscle-strengthening physical activity (OR = 0.92; 95% CI = [0.88, 0.96]). This study found no evidence that musculoskeletal symptoms may interfere with regular engagement in LTPA. Physical activity promotion interventions should address employment-related barriers, and particularly target racial minority nurses and those who have a high body mass index.


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