An evaluation of physical activity training in Australian medical school curricula

Strong, Abigail; Stoutenberg, Mark; Hobson-Powell, Anita; Hargreaves, Mark; Beeler, Halle; Stamatakis, Emmanuel

doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2016.10.011

Cited by 45 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…In all, the prevalence of formal teaching about PA was low, and this was more so for UK students compared to Singapore students (25.9% vs. 35.2%, p = 0.015), but confidence in giving patients PA advice was not significantly different for students from both countries (p = 0.178). As shown in Table VI, formal teaching was associated with high confidence levels in PA counselling among students from both Singapore and the UK (p < 0.001 for both).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…A contributing factor may be the nature of undergraduate medical training, in which a greater focus is often placed on conventional (medical or surgical) treatment as compared to lifestyle modification (such as increasing PA). To illustrate this, Strong et al (35) reported that although 88% of Australian medical schools provided PA education, the time allocated to it over a six-year period averaged only 12.3 hours. Moreover, students are trained to recognise broad principles of management rather than specific details, such as frequency and duration of exercise Another aim of this study was to determine if medical students are given any formal teaching in discussing PA with patients.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Scoping review and international multi-centre cohort study investigating teaching, knowledge and beliefs regarding physical activity as a health intervention among medical students: a comparison between Singapore and the UK

Chew¹,

Ho²,

Kee³

et al. 2019

smedj

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INTRODUCTION Physical inactivity is a global challenge and physicians must promote physical activity (PA) among their patients. Nevertheless, PA counselling remains inadequate due to limitations in knowledge, education and information availability. This study evaluates the understanding of PA as a health intervention and knowledge of World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines among Singapore and United Kingdom (UK) medical students, the next generation of physicians. METHODSStudents from Singapore (Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine) and the UK (Universities of Cardiff, Leicester, Oxford and Birmingham) were invited to complete a 12-item online survey. Questions assessed knowledge of WHO guidelines, understanding of PA in health and illness, personal PA levels and exposure to PA counselling in clinical practice. RESULTSAmong 633 Singapore and UK students who completed the questionnaire, 94.8% believed that PA was important in preventing disease, but only 70.9% recognised its importance in treating disease. The majority (85.3%) indicated participation in PA and exercise. General understanding of WHO guidelines for adults was poor, with less than half (46.8%) correctly answering this section. 3 (0.5%) students identified that PA in adults could be accumulated in multiple ways. Understanding of PA in health and familiarity with guidelines did not differ significantly between Singapore and UK students. CONCLUSION There is considerable room for improvement in the knowledge of WHO guidelines and the role of PA in health. Education should begin during the undergraduate phase so that future doctors are better equipped to counsel their patients.Scoping review and international multi-centre cohort study investigating teaching, knowledge and beliefs regarding physical activity as a health intervention among medical students: a comparison between Singapore and the UK

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scoping review and international multi-centre cohort study investigating teaching, knowledge and beliefs regarding physical activity as a health intervention among medical students: a comparison between Singapore and the UK

Chew¹,

Ho²,

Kee³

et al. 2019

smedj

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“…The importance of training medical students in 'lifestyle medicine' is increasingly being recognised globally. 249 Efforts towards integrating lifestyle interventions within routine mental healthcare should also avoid an isolated focus on individual level behaviour change, in the absence of facilitating adaptations in service structure, delivery and culture (see Part 5). This approach builds on existing evidence that medical and nursing practitioners who engage in healthy lifestyle behaviours themselves are more likely to recommend and endorse such behaviours for patients.…”

Section: Training Health Professionals For a Culture Shiftmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Lancet Psychiatry Commission: a blueprint for protecting physical health in people with mental illness

Firth

Siddiqi

Koyanagi

et al. 2019

The Lancet Psychiatry

912

1,093

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Executive SummaryThe poor physical health of people with mental illness is a multi-faceted, transdiagnostic, and global problem. Physical health disparities are observed across the entire spectrum of mental illnesses, in low, middle-and high-income countries. This stems from both a heightened risk of physical diseases in people with mental illness, along with their reduced access to adequate healthcare. The high rates of physical comorbidities (and typically-poor clinical management of this) drastically reduces life expectancy, and also increases the personal, social and economic burden of illness across the lifespan.This Commission has brought together an international team of researchers, clinicians, and key stakeholders from various backgrounds and professionally / personally-relevant experience, in order to summarize advances in understanding on this topic, and present clear directions for health promotion, clinical care and future research. The breadth and multifactorial nature of physical health disparities across the range of mental health diagnoses poses an almost limitless number of potential considerations. Therefore, rather than attempting to cover all of the different possible combinations of physical-mental comorbidities individually, the aim of this Commission was to: (i) establish highlypertinent aspects of physical health-related morbidity and mortality which apply transdiagnostically, (ii) highlight the common modifiable factors driving these disparities, (iii) present actions and initiatives for health policy and clinical services to address these issues, and (iv) identify promising areas for future research towards discovering novel solutions. This was addressed across 5 different Parts of the Commission: Parts 1 and 2 determined the scope, priorities and key targets for physical health improvement across multiple mental illnesses. Parts 3, 4 and 5 discussed emerging strategies and produced recommendations for improving physical health outcomes in people with mental illness. Leaders and contributors for each Part are shown in the Appendix (pg.1) . Part 1: 'Its more than premature mortality'Part 1 identified almost 100 systematic reviews/meta-analyses examining the prevalence of physical comorbidities in mental illness. Around 70% of the meta-research focused on cardiometabolic diseases; consistently reporting that mental illnesses were associated with 1.4-to 2-fold increased risk for obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases compared to the general population. Although mostly studied in 'severe mental illness' ('SMI', and particularly psychotic disorders), the prevalence of cardiometabolic diseases was similarly elevated across a broad range of other diagnoses, including substance use disorders (SUDs), and 'common mental disorders' ('CMDs', such as depression and anxiety). Part 2: Key modifiable factors in health behaviours and health servicesPart 2 built on the findings of Part 1 with a hierarchal evidence synthesis of modifiable risk factors for physical diseases in mental illness. The bu...

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“…Less than half of all medical school curricula throughout the United States provide any formal training on physical activity [57]. In Australia, instruction on physical activity in medical schools is also reported to be less than adequate; for most the total hours spent dedicated to physical activity is in the single digits and less than half provide instruction on strength training guidelines [58].…”

Section: Lifestyle In Training and Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

From Authoritarianism to Advocacy: Lifestyle-Driven, Socially-Transmitted Conditions Require a Transformation in Medical Training and Practice

Prescott

Logan²

2018

Challenges

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The epidemic of socially-rooted, lifestyle-driven non-communicable diseases (NCDs; also referred to as socially-transmitted conditions) has now overtaken infectious diseases as the leading cause of human mortality. Despite this reality, physician education, training and practice within industrialized nations is heavily slanted toward the biopharmaceutical (and away from the psychosocial) aspects of prevention and treatment. As we underscore, the current state of physician training and practical application of guidelines pertaining to lifestyle is paltry and untenable. However, the solution is not a few more hours of nutritional biochemistry to check off the curricula box. Physician readiness for the current NCD crisis will require a philosophical shift in medicine-at-large, including candidate pooling. Recent elections in the United States and Europe have cast a spotlight on the public health consequences of political authoritarianism. However, we highlight that authoritarianism-and its related facets of social dominance orientation and Machiavellianism-are not exclusive to political candidates. Here, we open a dialogue on authoritarianism in westernized medicine as a starting point in order to encourage the development of critical research and to explore its potential as a barrier to patient care. We suggest that authoritarianism and its prejudices act as a border wall to the World Health Organization's broad vision of global health, cultural competency and patient autonomy. Moreover, the evidence reviewed here would suggest that in the context of the NCDs crisis, westernized medicine is long overdue a Flexner Report for the 21st Century.

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An evaluation of physical activity training in Australian medical school curricula

Cited by 45 publications

References 11 publications

Scoping review and international multi-centre cohort study investigating teaching, knowledge and beliefs regarding physical activity as a health intervention among medical students: a comparison between Singapore and the UK

Scoping review and international multi-centre cohort study investigating teaching, knowledge and beliefs regarding physical activity as a health intervention among medical students: a comparison between Singapore and the UK

The Lancet Psychiatry Commission: a blueprint for protecting physical health in people with mental illness

From Authoritarianism to Advocacy: Lifestyle-Driven, Socially-Transmitted Conditions Require a Transformation in Medical Training and Practice

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