Interventions prompted by primary care providers increases physical activity

1. In this study, physical activity (PA) interventions delivered or prompted by primary care providers increased moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) by 14 minutes/week.

2. Trials that used self-report measures showed that participants achieved 24 minutes/week more MVPA compared to controls; however, there was no significant difference in trials that used a device to measure PA.

Evidence Rating Level: 1 (Excellent)

Over the past 2 decades, there have been little improvement in PA participation. Many patients visit their primary care provider at least once a year, creating the opportunity for making PA recommendations. Currently, there is a lack of understanding of the effectiveness of primary care delivered PA interventions. As a result, the present systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCT) sought to synthesize the evidence regarding the effectiveness of PA interventions delivered or prompted by primary care providers in increasing MVPA.

Of 14 566 screened records, 46 RCTs were included (n=16 198 participants) from database inception to September 2020. Studies were eligible if they randomly allocated adult participants to any PA intervention delivered or prompted by a primary care provider or usual care group that did not involve physical activity. Trials were excluded if they evaluated exercise referrals. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Data was analyzed using inverse variance meta analyses using random effect models.

Results demonstrated that PA interventions delivered or prompted by primary care providers increased moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) by 14 minutes/week. Furthermore, trials that used self-report measures showed that participants achieved 24 minutes/week more MVPA compared to controls; yet, there was no significant difference when compared to trials that used a device to measure PA. However, the study was limited by the smaller number of trials that used devices to measure MVPA which may have influenced the results. Despite this, the results were strengthened by the large, comprehensive study design thereby increasing generalizability.

Click to read the study in BMJ 

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