An exploration of factors influencing physical activity levels amongst a cohort of people living in the community after stroke in the south of England.

CONCLUSIONS: Almost half of the survey cohort reported PA levels insufficient to meet current guidelines. Similar to barriers reported in previous studies in USA and other parts of the UK, numerous interlinking and overlapping personal, interpersonal, and environmental barriers to undertaking PA were identified. Implications for Rehabilitation This study found that although more than 60% of the survey population were able to ambulate >200 m, only 55.2% reported undertaking sufficient PA to meet current guidelines, putting them at increased risk of further stroke and other co-morbidities. Participants reported a number of interlinking and overlapping personal, interpersonal, and environmental barriers to undertaking PA, which may explain this discrepancy between mobility status and self reported activity levels. Rehabilitation professionals and primary care providers are well positioned to address the barriers identified in this survey, such as providing interventions to reduce fear of falling, pain, and fatigue, providing support and education about safely increasing physical activity and addressing unhelpful beliefs about PA. Behaviour change strategies, such as increasing self-efficacy, and partnering with the person with stroke to problem solve strategies to address the barriers identified by this, and related research, are likely to be more successful in increasing PA than providing information alone. PMID: 28029070 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Disability and Rehabilitation - Category: Rehabilitation Authors: Tags: Disabil Rehabil Source Type: research