Health behaviour change and lifestyle-related condition prevalence: Comparison of two epochs based on systematic review of the physical therapy literature

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists Toward Lifestyle Screening and Education: A Descriptive Study

INTRODUCTION

Lifestyle-focused rehabilitation plans need to become part of the standard system of care for the treatment of chronic diseases. To achieve this goal, the KAP of rehabilitation professionals toward lifestyle medicine needs to be understood. This study investigated the niche of orthopedic manual physical therapy and is purposed as a foundational model for continued research.

METHOD

A survey instrument was designed to investigate the KAP of orthopedic manual physical therapists toward lifestyle screening and education.

RESULTS

There were 155 participants of which 58.1-72.3% reported frequently talking to their patients about lifestyle topics, while 78.1-80.6% felt highly confident and competent while doing so. Additionally, 92.9-94.8% thought that lifestyle screening and education was important and that physical therapists should be doing it. Participants discussed exercise most frequently with their patients (96.1%) and alcohol the least (12.9%). Participants with advanced degrees (ie, PhD or DSc) had significantly higher Practice (MΔ= -3.755, P = .001) and Knowledge (MΔ= -4.14904, P = .020) ratings than those with entry-level physical therapy degrees.

CONCLUSION

There was strong acceptance of lifestyle screening and education in orthopedic manual physical therapy with an emphasis on exercise. This study provides a foundational basis for continued research.

The Critical Role of Nutrition Care to Improve Pain Management: A Global Call to Action for Physical Therapist Practice

Physical therapists have unique education in the comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment and treatment of chronic pain and its mechanisms. Recently, physical therapists have raised awareness regarding the impact of nutrition on promoting health and managing noncommunicable diseases. Robust evidence supports the implementation of nutrition in physical therapist education and practice. Of particular interest for the physical therapist are investigations that use dietary interventions for the treatment of chronic pain. Yet physical therapists have received little guidance regarding their role in nutrition care for pain management and may pass on opportunities to counsel their patients on the connection between nutrition and pain. Therefore, a clinical paradigm shift and unified voice within the profession is called on to encourage physical therapists to develop tailored multimodal lifestyle interventions that include nutrition care for the management of chronic pain. This Perspective describes evidence supporting the implementation of nutrition care in physical therapist practice, supports the role of nutritional pain management for physical therapists, and encourages the use of nutrition care for primary, secondary, tertiary, prevention, health promotion, and wellness related to chronic pain. To achieve these aims, this Perspective offers suggestions for how physical therapists can (1) enhance clinical decision making; (2) expand professional, jurisdictional, and personal scope of practice; (3) evolve entry-level education; and (4) stimulate new investigations in nutrition care and pain science research. In doing so, physical therapists can assert their role throughout the pain management continuum, champion innovative research initiatives, and enhance public health by reducing the impact of chronic pain.

IMPACT

The nutrition care process for pain management is defined as the basic duty to provide adequate and appropriate nutrition education and counseling to people living with pain. Including the nutrition care process as part of a multimodal approach to pain management provides an opportunity for physical therapists to assert their role throughout the pain management continuum. This includes championing innovative research initiatives and enhancing public health by reducing the impact of chronic pain for over 50 million Americans.

The use of information and communication technologies to promote healthy lifestyle behaviour: a systematic scoping review

INTRODUCTION

Health-promoting lifestyle behaviours are part of the activities of daily living that influence individual happiness, values and well-being. They play a crucial role in prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among all age groups. Current statistics on mortality, disability and morbidity associated with NCDs are alarming globally. The use of information and communication technology (ICT) for a health-promoting lifestyle behaviour programme enhances health behaviours that are important in the prevention and control of both communicable and non-communicable diseases. Our study aimed to map evidence on the use of ICT in comprehensive health-promoting lifestyle behaviour among healthy adults.

METHODS

Eleven electronic databases were searched for the study. We included studies published in English between January 2007 and December 2018 reporting on healthy adults, ICT and any subscales of the health-promoting lifestyle profile (HPLP). Studies focusing on diseases or disease management and studies that combine monitoring tools in the form of hardware (accelerometer or pedometer) with ICT or computer games were excluded. Data were summarised numerically and thematically.

RESULTS

All the studies reviewed were conducted in developed countries. Most of the studies reported on physical activity, and findings of one study covered all the subscales of HPLP. The use of ICT for health-promoting lifestyle behaviours was reported to be effective in ensuring health behaviours that can improve physical and mental health.

CONCLUSION

Our findings showed that there is a dearth of knowledge on comprehensive health-promoting lifestyle behaviour that can be beneficial for the control and prevention of NCDs. There is a need to carry out primary studies on the use of ICT and comprehensive health-promoting lifestyle, especially among adults in low-income and middle-income countries where there are alarming statistics for mortality and disability associated with NCDs.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42016042568.

Future challenges for intervention research in health and lifestyle research - A systematic meta-literature review

The overall aim of this systematic meta-literature review was to (1) summarize the findings of review studies focusing on health determinants, (2) give an overview of intervention studies that have been used to facilitate health and lifestyle, and (3) provide recommendations for future studies in health promotion. A literature review, using a meta-method, was conducted to identify health and lifestyle research based on research articles related to health changes. The search yielded a total of 561 unique citations and finally 24 citations remained. Of those, 11 studies focused on health determinants, whereas 13 focused on interventions for health promotion. Results from this meta-synthesis led to four recommendations for the design of future intervention studies. (1) To increase the likelihood of capturing different biopsychosocial aspects of health, researchers from different scientific disciplines should collaborate in the design, implementation, and evaluation of the study. (2) It is recommended to use theoretical frameworks that focus on health determinants in longitudinal studies with a repeated measures design. (3) Studies should involve behavioral interventions. (4) Design face-to-face intervention studies where the participant can interact with other persons.

Perceptions of physiotherapists about their role in health promotion at an acute hospital: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the perceptions of physiotherapists about their role in health promotion in an acute inpatient setting.

DESIGN

Qualitative design using focus groups within a constructivist framework. Focus groups were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a constant comparative method.

SETTING

An acute National Health Service (NHS) hospital trust.

PARTICIPANTS

Three focus groups were conducted with a total of 22 physiotherapists who were recruited purposively from the medical and surgical unit of the study hospital.

FINDINGS

Participants generally perceived health promotion to be within their scope of practice, particularly in relation to the promotion of physical activity and smoking cessation. Whilst some facilitators to engaging in health promotion were discussed, a large number of barriers to routine engagement in health promotion were identified. These included time constraints, the focus of acute settings on discharge, and scepticism of effectiveness.

CONCLUSION

Pre- and postregistration physiotherapy education as well as mandatory training in NHS trusts should be reviewed to equip the workforce to engage in this crucial area of health care.