Promoting the Health Benefits of Walking and Bicycling to Work: A Qualitative Exploration of the Role of Healthcare Providers in Addressing Barriers to Active Commuting
Journal Title: Sports and Exercise Medicine – Open Journal - Year 2016, Vol 2, Issue 2
Abstract
Background: Active commuting (walking or bicycling to work) is a beneficial form of exercise; its health benefits include lower rates of heart disease and stroke, improved mental health, and lower overall mortality. Given these health benefits, healthcare providers are well positioned to promote active commuting. We conducted a study that qualitatively explored the barriers to and solutions for active commuting, and the role of healthcare providers in encouraging active commuting. The study was done in a primary care population that was in close contact with a healthcare provider (within reach of a healthcare intervention). Methods: Drawing on a sample of 17 participants (11 who actively commute and 6 who do not) recruited through random selection at a family practice, we facilitated focus groups to explore the barriers patients face in active commuting, strategies that patients use or could use in overcoming those barriers, and the role of healthcare providers in promoting active commuting. The focus groups were recorded and transcribed. Responses were organized into themes and analyzed by the research team according to a grounded theory approach until a saturation point was met. Results: Participants identified a number of internal, external, and cultural barriers to active commuting. Active commuters had a number of motivating factors apart from physical health; these included mental health benefits, interaction with people and the environment, and financial savings. Participants outlined several opportunities for healthcare provider intervention, including individualized education around the health benefits of active commuting, problem solving and motivational interviewing, and advocacy. Interpretation: The patient-identified barriers to active commuting fell into 3 main categories: internal barriers, external barriers, and cultural barriers. We used these categories to create a framework to understand areas of possible healthcare provider intervention. Motivational interviewing, education, and counseling are all areas of intervention for internal barriers. External and cultural barriers may be more difficult to address, and a physician’s most valuable role in addressing systemic barriers may be through advocacy at the local, provincial, and federal level. We suggest that healthcare providers should be some of the many team members required to get the Canadian population more physically active through walking and bicycling to work.
Authors and Affiliations
Rebecca Wallace
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP546340
- DOI 10.17140/SEMOJ-2-135
- Views 114
- Downloads 0
Early Loading after Closed Wedge High Tibial Osteotomy for Knee Arthritis
Operative treatment approaches for the arthritis in the medial tibiofemoral compartment combined with a varus deformation of the knee are closed wedge high tibial osteotomy or knee arthroplasty. In contrast to the knee a...
Exercise as Medicine: Possible Applications for Improving Home Based Programs
Epidemiological, clinical and laboratory studies have provided a large body of evidence on the benefit of physical exercise in reducing the morbidity and mortality of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular, type 2 diabe...
Social Competence as a Role-Player in the Game between Motor Performance and Organized Sports Participation among School-Age Children
Lifestyle choices from childhood, such as being physically active, track into adulthood. A key factor that influences a child’s likelihood of being healthy is their level of social competence. Social Competence (SC) is t...
Motivational State Does Not Affect All-Out Short Duration Exercise Performance
Introduction: The preferred motivational state (telic or paratelic), i.e., dominance, has been linked to the type of activity sports people participate in. As such, positive or negative performance may occur if there is...
The Effect of a Heel Insert Intervention on Achilles Tendon Loading during Running in Soccer
The use of heel inserts has been shown to reduce the risk of sustaining Achilles Tendon (AT) injury in soccer. Likewise, heel lifts have been positively used in the treatment of Achilles tendon injury. Despite this evide...