Brief counseling strategies on physical activity developed by health professionals

Brief Physical Activity Counseling

Abstract

Objective: To describe the strategies used in brief counseling on physical activity carried out by health professionals working in Basic Health Units. Method: This is a cross-sectional and qualitative study that involved the application of a remote questionnaire to health professionals linked to a Regional Department of Health of the state of São Paulo between March and September 2021. The data relating to brief counseling strategies were organized in a spreadsheet and distributed into six categories based on a comprehensive qualitative analysis of the content and, subsequently, a frequency and percentage analysis of these categories. Results: In total, 34
health professionals responded to the questionnaire, with an average age of 40.4+8.6 years, mostly female and working in the nursing
field. Among the brief counseling strategies, recommending the “type of physical activity” (50%) was the most frequent category by health
professionals, with walking being the most recommended practice (40.4%). Categories of brief counseling were also created on “time and/or frequency” of physical activity” (21.4%), “benefits of physical activity” (11.9%), “physical activity preferences” (7.1 %), “intensity of physical activity” (4.7%) and “recommendation for specific audiences” (2.3%). Conclusion: The majority of brief counseling presented a more prescriptive characteristic. Therefore, training and support for the ongoing education of health professionals is suggested so that counseling strategies are guided by preferences, pleasure, and fun to promote physical activity