Cargando…

Physical activity assessment in practice: a mixed methods study of GPPAQ use in primary care

BACKGROUND: Insufficient physical activity (PA) levels which increase the risk of chronic disease are reported by almost two-thirds of the population. More evidence is needed about how PA promotion can be effectively implemented in general practice (GP), particularly in socio-economically disadvanta...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Heron, Neil, Tully, Mark A, McKinley, Michelle C, Cupples, Margaret E
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: BioMed Central 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3897938/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24422666
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2296-15-11
_version_ 1782300325836750848
author Heron, Neil
Tully, Mark A
McKinley, Michelle C
Cupples, Margaret E
author_facet Heron, Neil
Tully, Mark A
McKinley, Michelle C
Cupples, Margaret E
author_sort Heron, Neil
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Insufficient physical activity (PA) levels which increase the risk of chronic disease are reported by almost two-thirds of the population. More evidence is needed about how PA promotion can be effectively implemented in general practice (GP), particularly in socio-economically disadvantaged communities. One tool recommended for the assessment of PA in GP and supported by NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) is The General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPPAQ) but details of how it may be used and of its acceptability to practitioners and patients are limited. This study aims to examine aspects of GPPAQ administration in non-urgent patient contacts using different primary care electronic recording systems and to explore the views of health professionals regarding its use. METHODS: Four general practices, selected because of their location within socio-economically disadvantaged areas, were invited to administer GPPAQs to patients, aged 35-75 years, attending non-urgent consultations, over two-week periods. They used different methods of administration and different electronic medical record systems (EMIS, Premiere, Vision). Participants’ (general practitioners (GPs), nurses and receptionists) views regarding GPPAQ use were explored via questionnaires and focus groups. RESULTS: Of 2,154 eligible consultations, 192 (8.9%) completed GPPAQs; of these 83 (43%) were categorised as inactive. All practices were located within areas ranked as being in the tertile of greatest socio-economic deprivation in Northern Ireland. GPs/nurses in two practices invited completion of the GPPAQ, receptionists did so in two. One practice used an electronic template; three used paper copies of the questionnaires. End-of-study questionnaires, completed by 11 GPs, 3 nurses and 2 receptionists and two focus groups, with GPs (n = 8) and nurses (n = 4) indicated that practitioners considered the GPPAQ easy to use but not in every consultation. Its use extended consultation time, particularly for patients with complex problems who could potentially benefit from PA promotion. CONCLUSIONS: GPs and nurses reported that the GPPAQ itself was an easy tool with which to assess PA levels in general practice and feasible to use in a range of electronic record systems but integration within routine practice is constrained by time and complex consultations. Further exploration of ways to facilitate PA promotion into practice is needed.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-3897938
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2014
publisher BioMed Central
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-38979382014-01-23 Physical activity assessment in practice: a mixed methods study of GPPAQ use in primary care Heron, Neil Tully, Mark A McKinley, Michelle C Cupples, Margaret E BMC Fam Pract Research Article BACKGROUND: Insufficient physical activity (PA) levels which increase the risk of chronic disease are reported by almost two-thirds of the population. More evidence is needed about how PA promotion can be effectively implemented in general practice (GP), particularly in socio-economically disadvantaged communities. One tool recommended for the assessment of PA in GP and supported by NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) is The General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPPAQ) but details of how it may be used and of its acceptability to practitioners and patients are limited. This study aims to examine aspects of GPPAQ administration in non-urgent patient contacts using different primary care electronic recording systems and to explore the views of health professionals regarding its use. METHODS: Four general practices, selected because of their location within socio-economically disadvantaged areas, were invited to administer GPPAQs to patients, aged 35-75 years, attending non-urgent consultations, over two-week periods. They used different methods of administration and different electronic medical record systems (EMIS, Premiere, Vision). Participants’ (general practitioners (GPs), nurses and receptionists) views regarding GPPAQ use were explored via questionnaires and focus groups. RESULTS: Of 2,154 eligible consultations, 192 (8.9%) completed GPPAQs; of these 83 (43%) were categorised as inactive. All practices were located within areas ranked as being in the tertile of greatest socio-economic deprivation in Northern Ireland. GPs/nurses in two practices invited completion of the GPPAQ, receptionists did so in two. One practice used an electronic template; three used paper copies of the questionnaires. End-of-study questionnaires, completed by 11 GPs, 3 nurses and 2 receptionists and two focus groups, with GPs (n = 8) and nurses (n = 4) indicated that practitioners considered the GPPAQ easy to use but not in every consultation. Its use extended consultation time, particularly for patients with complex problems who could potentially benefit from PA promotion. CONCLUSIONS: GPs and nurses reported that the GPPAQ itself was an easy tool with which to assess PA levels in general practice and feasible to use in a range of electronic record systems but integration within routine practice is constrained by time and complex consultations. Further exploration of ways to facilitate PA promotion into practice is needed. BioMed Central 2014-01-15 /pmc/articles/PMC3897938/ /pubmed/24422666 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2296-15-11 Text en Copyright © 2014 Heron et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Heron, Neil
Tully, Mark A
McKinley, Michelle C
Cupples, Margaret E
Physical activity assessment in practice: a mixed methods study of GPPAQ use in primary care
title Physical activity assessment in practice: a mixed methods study of GPPAQ use in primary care
title_full Physical activity assessment in practice: a mixed methods study of GPPAQ use in primary care
title_fullStr Physical activity assessment in practice: a mixed methods study of GPPAQ use in primary care
title_full_unstemmed Physical activity assessment in practice: a mixed methods study of GPPAQ use in primary care
title_short Physical activity assessment in practice: a mixed methods study of GPPAQ use in primary care
title_sort physical activity assessment in practice: a mixed methods study of gppaq use in primary care
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3897938/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24422666
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2296-15-11
work_keys_str_mv AT heronneil physicalactivityassessmentinpracticeamixedmethodsstudyofgppaquseinprimarycare
AT tullymarka physicalactivityassessmentinpracticeamixedmethodsstudyofgppaquseinprimarycare
AT mckinleymichellec physicalactivityassessmentinpracticeamixedmethodsstudyofgppaquseinprimarycare
AT cupplesmargarete physicalactivityassessmentinpracticeamixedmethodsstudyofgppaquseinprimarycare