Assessing Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Primary Healthcare Physicians Towards Physical Activity Counseling, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province Open Access
Alahmed, Zahra (2017)
Abstract
Background:Physical inactivity is a major health issue in Saudi Arabia (SA) and is considered a risk factor for other non-communicable diseases. Being physically active can improve overall health and prevent the risk of non-communicable diseases and their consequences. Primary healthcare (PHC) centers are a suitable place for health promotion and physical activity (PA) counseling, both of which are affected by the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of PHC physicians.
Aims: 1. Assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of PHC physicians in SA toward PA through self-reported surveys. 2. Identify barriers to providing PA counseling. 3. Assess physician lifestyle behaviors and the related effects on physicians' PA counseling practices. 4. Develop a set of recommendations for a potential strategy to promote physical activity through PHC centers
Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted in four main cities in Eastern Province, SA (AL-Khobar, Dammam, Qatif, and Safwa). A total of 147 physicians filled out self-reported surveys for use in the assessment of aims.
Results: Overall,61.54% of physicians believed that PA promotion to patients was their responsibility. They felt confident in their ability to provide counseling but believed that they lacked time and adequate referral services for PA and received inadequate training in PA counseling. Among all family and general physicians, the prevalence of PA counseling practice increased if the patient had a chronic disease. Moreover, several factors were associated with physicians' attitudes toward PA counseling and their PA counseling practice, including physician age, gender, specialty, education level, university of graduation, level of knowledge about PA guidelines, general health status, number of adult and pediatric patients seen by physician/day, number of nurses working in PHC centers, and others.
Recommendations: Training the medical staff in PA counseling and empowering the healthcare manpower and infrastructure can help physicians improve their counseling practice. Furthermore, working with the community to develop an electronic referral system for community centers and gyms to promote physical activity could be beneficial. This approach would help decrease physical inactivity in SA and its related health and economic burdens.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Introduction
Abbreviations 2Definitions and Terms
4The Health Benefits of Physical Activity
8 Role of PHC Centers 11 Conceptual Framework for Physical Activity 12Problem Statement/Significance
14The Relevance of the Problem to the Target Population
14 Objective 14 Aims 15Research Questions
15 Chapter 2. Literature Review 16 Physical Activity and Inactivity in SA 17 Physical Activity Promotion Intervention 24 Physical Activity Counseling 26 Physical Activity Counseling Effectiveness28
Physical Activity Counseling in Primary Care in SA
30Global View: Physical Activity Counseling in Primary Care
32Chapter 3. Methodology & Results
36 Methodology 37 Study Design 37Study Site and Population
37 Instruments 38Human Subjects and Ethical Considerations
40 Variables 40Data Management and Analysis
42 Results 43 Descriptive Analysis 43Association Analysis
52Association Between Physician Specialty and the Frequency of Physical Activity Counseling Practice
52Characteristics Associated with Physicians' Physical Activity Counseling Practice and Attitudes
57Characteristics Associated with Physicians' Physical Activity Counseling Practice
60Characteristics Associated with Physician Attitudes Toward Physical Activity Counseling
73Chapter 4. Discussion
79Discussion
80 Limitations 87Recommendations and Future Research
88 References 89 Appendixes 93About this Master's Thesis
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