Physical activity counseling through Registered Nurses in a hospital setting

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Registered nurses (RN’s) are well positioned to provide physical activity counseling (PA counseling) to their hospital patients. RNs educate during ‘teachable moments” as hospital patients often find themselves in a state of readiness to make lifestyle changes such as increases in regular physical activity. Although the health benefits of physical activity are well documented, PA counseling has not been well studied among the nursing population or in the hospital environment. The main purpose of this study was to identify the percentage of RNs who provide PA counseling to their patients and to explore the factors which contribute to their decisions to provide PA counseling. Methods: A web-based survey was used to gather information from 323 hospital-based RNs employed at five hospitals in four states. The survey gathered information including current physical activity levels, thirteen perceived barriers to physical activity based on the Exercise Benefits and Barriers Scale, and information regarding whether RNs provide PA counseling to their hospital-based patients. Results: RNs reported an average of 3.3 barriers to being physically active. One hundred and eighty- seven RNs provided PA counseling to their patients (57.8%) and 133 did not provide PA counseling (41.1%). The presence of barriers to being physically active was related to PA counseling for nine of the thirteen barriers. The following hypotheses were supported: 1) RNs who report lower levels of perceived barriers to being physical active were more likely to provide PA counseling than those who report higher levels of perceived vigorous physical activity were more likely to provide PA counseling than those who reported lower levels of light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity. Conclusion: The findings from this study revealed RNs who are physically active and report fewer barriers to physical activity were more likely to provide PA counseling to their hospital-based patients. Future research needs to address types and quality of PA counseling as well as utilize theory driven intervention designs.