Abstract
2083 The purpose of this study was to assess physician confidence, knowledge, current practice, exercise habits and barriers related to the counselling of exercise by family physicians in Canada. A two-page questionnaire was developed and a pre-test was conducted with 13 local family physicians. This was followed by a national survey on a stratified random sample of family physicians in six provinces that yielded a 61.2% response rate. Data from the 330 respondents revealed only 12.1% of physicians provided exercise prescriptions that met American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommendations, 9.7% felt very knowledgeable in exercise counselling, and 11.8% counselled 75-100% of their patients about exercise. A total of 22.4% of physicians exercised according to ACSM guidelines. Barriers cited as important included insufficient exercise education in postgraduate medical training and not enough time to counsel. Several areas of sub-optimal exercise counselling by family physicians in Canada were identified. Future exercise counselling educational opportunities for physicians (during and after training) are necessary if family physicians in Canada desire an active role in exercise promotion. Additional research is required to determine whether alternative models (using both fitness professionals and family physicians) would result in more patients receiving exercise counselling.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
