The following is a summary of “Optimising the treatment of chronic ischemic heart disease by training general practitioners to deliver very brief advice on physical activity (OptiCor): protocol of the systematic development and evaluation of a complex intervention,” published in the November 2024 issue of Primary Care by Hoppe et al.
Chronic ischemic heart disease (IHD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Physical activity (PA) is a key secondary prevention strategy, but inadequate training of general practitioners (GPs) hinders effective delivery of PA advice.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to develop and evaluate a GP training program for delivering very brief PA advice.
They conducted OptiCor in 3 phases following the Medical Research Council guidelines. In Phase 1, a nationwide survey was conducted to collect data on GP-delivered PA advice for patients with IHD, complemented by qualitative interviews with GPs and patients. Phase 2 involved a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) to test the training’s effectiveness on GP-delivered PA advice. Phase 3 will implement a full pragmatic cRCT, with patient-reported GP-delivered PA advice as the primary endpoint, and will collect health economic and process-related data for potential broader implementation.
Investigators found that the training improved GP-delivered PA advice to patients with IHD, highlighting its potential as a sustainable strategy for implementing PA recommendations in routine care.
Source: bmcprimcare.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12875-024-02655-3
