Medical conduct and knowledge about physical activity counseling in the largest hospital complex in Latin America

Abstract

Objective: To characterize practices and knowledge regarding PA counseling at a large tertiary hospital. Design: Cross-sectional observational study. Participants and setting: Physicians with an active medical practice within the university hospital were invited to respond to an online survey. Interventions: A questionnaire designed to capture information on medical training, life habits and knowledge about PA. Main outcomes measures: Sedentary behavior, clinical practice and self-efficacy were assessed by Likert-type questions, whereas regular practice, previous training, and knowledge of PA were evaluated through dichotomous questions (answers: “yes or no” or “true or false”). Results: Response rate was 11.5% (50.6% female, 44.9 ± 12.8 years), 67.7% were physically active, and 63.3% had 4 to 8 h/day of sedentary behavior. Only 40.7% had previous training on PA, 99.7% recognized the importance of recommending PA, but only a small part (48.4%) recommended PA in all consultations (the main barrier was lack of specific training). In addition, 69.2%, 58.7% and 65.5% rated their abilities to collect PA history, assess contraindications, and engage the patient as good/excellent, respectively. Knowledge of PA was rated as low to very low, with correct answers ranging from 49% to 17% and as low as ~10% (when considering the pediatric population). Conclusion: Although physicians recognize the importance of PA counseling and have high perceived self-efficacy in relation to counseling skills, few put them into practice. This may be due to insufficient training on PA and/or the complexity of services provided at the tertiary hospital. The present results corroborate the need for improvements in medical training on PA.