The following is a summary of “Tools to guide clinical discussions on physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and/or sleep for health promotion between primary care providers and adults accessing care: a scoping review,” published in the July 2023 issue of Primary Care by Morgan, et al.

For a study, researchers sought to synthesize and evaluate tools used in primary care settings within Canada or analogous countries for discussing movement behaviors (physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep) between health care providers and adults aged 18 years and above. They sought to examine the features, perceptions, and effectiveness of these tools.

Using an integrated knowledge translation approach, a working group comprising experts in various fields guided the review process from formulating research questions to interpreting findings. Three search approaches (peer-reviewed, grey literature, and forward searches) were employed to identify studies that reported on the perceptions and/or effectiveness of tools related to physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.

A total of 135 studies met the inclusion criteria, representing 61 tools (i.e., 51 on physical activity, one on sleep, and nine combining two movement behaviors). These tools served different purposes, including assessment (n = 57), counseling (n = 50), prescription (n = 18), and referral (n = 12) for one or more movement behaviors. They were primarily intended for use by physicians, followed by nurses/nurse practitioners (n = 11) and adult patients (n = 10). The majority of tools targeted adults without chronic conditions in the age range of 18-64 years (n = 34). The included studies evaluated the effectiveness of the tools to varying degrees of quality.

The reviewed tools received positive perceptions and were deemed effective in improving knowledge, confidence, skills, and frequency of movement behavior discussions. Future tools should consider addressing all movement behaviors in an integrated manner according to the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines. Based on the findings, the study provided evidence-based recommendations for developing and implementing movement behavior discussion tools.

Source: bmcprimcare.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12875-023-02091-9