Barriers and facilitators to General Practitioners’ physical activity promotion behaviours when treating individuals with depression: cross-sectional survey study

Research output: Contribution to conferenceAbstractpeer-review

Abstract

Background: Despite the evidence-based benefits of physical activity for depression, previous studies indicate the majority (72%) of General Practitioners (GPs) do not discuss physical activity (PA) with patients during consultations. Given how integral GPs are in the use of PA for the management of depression, we need to identify the barriers and facilitators they experience to better understand why they don’t engage in PA promotion for depression.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was administered online to a representative sample of GPs from 1,248 GP Practices throughout England across all seven Integrated Care Board regions. GPs and Academics were involved in the development of the survey, which consisted of thirty-two questions to assess respondent characteristics, and barriers and facilitators to PA promotion for depression. The questions were guided by the Theoretical Domains Framework. Data will be analysed using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance (ANOVAs).
Results: Recruitment is ongoing with a current response rate of 5%. Initial results indicate that almost half of GPs report often discussing and recommending PA as part of their routine practice for patients who consult with them about depression. However, when treating patients with depression, over 50% of GPs report discussing and recommending other types of treatment often takes priority over discussing and recommending PA. Data collection will conclude by the end of December 2022, with full results to be presented at the conference.
Conclusions & Implications: Despite depression being the most common mental disorder, this is the first national survey to assess the barriers and facilitators to GPs’ promotion of PA as a treatment for depression as a primary outcome. Increasing our knowledge and understanding of GPs PA promotion behaviours may help to inform more targeted interventions for GPs working with this sub-population of mental illness.
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - 29 Mar 2023
EventUK Society for Behavioural Medicine: 18th Annual scientific conference, Birmingham - Birmingham, UK United Kingdom
Duration: 28 Mar 202329 Mar 2023

Conference

ConferenceUK Society for Behavioural Medicine
Country/TerritoryUK United Kingdom
CityBirmingham
Period28/03/2329/03/23

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