Article

The study aimed to explore the views of health professionals on (i)
physical activity in people who have rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and (ii) the
design of an intervention to promote physical activity in this population.
METHOD: We used a qualitative methodology and conducted 14 interviews (rheumatologists n = 7, physiotherapist n = 4, clinical nurse specialists n = 3).
Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis.
RESULTS: Three key themes were generated: "Personal opinions", "Supporting
physical activity" and "An ideal world". Although health professionals viewed
physical activity as important, recommending it to people who have RA was largely
based on persons' disease status rather than empirical evidence. Resources were
highlight as a key challenge to interventions in clinical practice. Supporting
physical activity through provision of information, goal setting and monitoring
was also discussed. CONCLUSION: Health professionals believe physical activity is
important for people who have RA, although there is uncertainty regarding
physical activity recommendations for this population. Thus, there is scope to
increase health professionals' knowledge of recent evidence. Views varied on how
an intervention to promote physical activity should be delivered, but
consideration of barriers to delivery in clinical practice is important.
Implications for Rehabilitation Physical activity is an important aspect of
disease management for people who have rheumatoid arthritis. Health professionals
need to acknowledge the "mixed messages" received by people who have RA about
being physically active thus further education for health professionals is
suggested to standardize physical activity advice in clinical practice. Health
professionals may benefit from education about behavior change theory and
techniques. When designing future physical activity interventions consideration
of the practical challenges of implementing research in a clinical setting is necessary.

Langue : ANGLAIS