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Evidence summaries

Physical Activity Interventions in Primary Care

Well-controlled physical activity interventions in primary care are effective in producing short-term changes in physical activity, but prolonged change or maintenance remains difficult. Level of evidence: "A"

A systematic review 1 included 9 RCTs (n=8 015) and 6 quasi-experimental studies (n=17 138).

Of the 10 studies reporting 0- to 11- month post-intervention outcomes, 7 reported statistically significant outcomes. Effect sizes ranged from 0.003 to 0.26 and odds ratios (OR) from 1.04 to 3.73 (median=1.88). Of the 7 studies reporting post-intervention outcomes at 12 or more months, 3 reported statistically significant outcomes. The only study among these from which an effect size could be calculated (d=0.09) reported follow-up ORs ranging from 0.09 to 1.39 (median=1.25).

None of the following parameters were related to effectiveness; interventionist (MD, nurse or student), methodological quality, use of follow-up support, duration of counselling, or whether the intervention was explicitly theory-based. Some between-study differences appeared to be related to effectiveness.

Interventions that focused only on physical activity, and those that were tailored to participants' characteristics, were more effective in the short-term. In contrast, all 3 of the studies with significant long-term effects were multiple risk factor interventions.

    References

    • Eakin EG, Glasgow RE, Riley KM. Review of primary care-based physical activity intervention studies: effectiveness and implications for practice and future research. J Fam Pract 2000 Feb;49(2):158-68. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords