Health education strategies used by physical therapists to promote behaviour change in people with lifestyle-related conditions: A systematic review

Abstract

KEYWORDS educational strategies; health behaviour change; lifestyle-related conditions; physical therapists Abstract Epidemiological data support an increasing prevalence of lifestyle-related conditions globally. As established healthcare professionals, physical therapists are well positioned to be clinically competent in patient education to effect long-term lifestyle behaviour change, to improve health and physical therapy outcomes. A scoping systematic review was conducted to identify educational strategies used by physical therapists and their attributes to prevent, reverse and manage lifestyle-related conditions. Stringent search strategies of related databases and research mining identified eight source studies. Heterogeneity of the studies disallowed pooling of the results and meta-analysis. Attributes of commonly-reported educational strategies included: theories (e.g., transtheoretical model and 5A's approach); timing (e.g., pre-and post-assessments and follow-up); session structure (e.g., brief advice, one-on-one, group and telephone); technique (e.g., motivational prompts, individualised programmes and goal-setting); and delivery method (e.g., brochures, diaries, audiovisual or video, handouts and skills demonstrations). Educational strategies related to lifestyle-related conditions used by physical therapists and their attributes vary. Observational studies need to confirm these findings clinically. Also, the cost-effectiveness of the education strategies used by Hong Kong Physiotherapy Journal (2012) 30, 57e75 physical therapists and their attributes need to be evaluated. Such knowledge will enable physical therapists to effectively address lifestyle-related conditions as a health priority in patients, irrespective of their primary presenting problems.

Perceptions of physiotherapists about their role in health promotion at an acute hospital: a qualitative study

“…everything so we're in quite a good place to try and be involved in health.' (Respondent 5, Band 7/8) This stance is echoed internationally in current literature, where a strong case is made for the pre-eminence of physiotherapy as a health-promoting profession [1,3,30,31].…”

“…Health promotion is universally regarded in the literature as crucial in tackling lifestyle conditions [1][2][3]. It is defined by the World Health Organization as 'a process of enabling people to increase control over and to improve their health' [4].…”

Health behaviour change theories: contributions to an ICF-based behavioural exercise therapy for individuals with chronic diseases

“…At present, HBC theories are identified as important for physical therapy and exercise programmes [11,12]. Nevertheless, a recently published review [13] identifies only three studies where physical therapists provide interventions that address behaviour change explicitly based on HBC theories. So far, there is a lack of systematic integration of contemporary HBC theories into exercise therapy and the subsequent tailoring of exercise-based interventions.…”

Health behaviour change and lifestyle-related condition prevalence: Comparison of two epochs based on systematic review of the physical therapy literature

“…In a companion systematic review, we recently analysed health education strategies that have been selected and implemented by physical therapists in the literature [45]. A synthesis of those findings identified components of these commonly reported educational strategies were theories (e.g., transtheoretical model and 5A's approach); timing (e.g., pre-and postassessments and follow-up); session structure (e.g., brief advice, one-on-one, group, and telephone); technique (e.g., motivational prompts, individualised programmes, and goal setting); and delivery method (e.g., brochures, diaries, audiovisual or video, handouts, and skills demonstrations).…”