Predictors of healthcare professionals' intention and behaviour to encourage physical activity in patients with cardiovascular risk factors

Abstract

BackgroundHealthcare professionals can play a crucial role in optimizing the health status of patients with cardiovascular risk factors (abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, low HDL cholesterol, elevated triglycerides and elevated blood glucose). In order to do this, it is imperative that we understand the social-cognitive determinants (including habits) that underlie healthcare professionals' intention and the corresponding behavior of actually encouraging patients with cardiovascular risk factors to engage in physical activity.MethodsIn this longitudinal Professionals' Intention and Behavior (PIB) study, healthcare professionals (N = 278, aged 20-61 years with approximately 60% having attained an education level exceeding bachelor's degree, types of healthcare professionals 60% in physiotherapy and 40% in nursing) completed online surveys measuring the social-cognitive determinants of healthcare professionals' intention and the corresponding behavior of actually encouraging patients with cardiovascular risk factors to engage in physical activity.ResultsSocial-cognitive determinants accounted for 41% (p < .001) of the variance in healthcare professionals' intention to encourage physical activity among cardiovascular patients. Important correlates of intention were attitude (β = .443, p < .001), subjective norms (β = .201, p < .001) and perceived behavioral control (β = .137, p < .01). With respect to the self-reported behavior of encouraging patients, social-cognitive determinants accounted for 29% (p < .001) of the variance. Intentions (β = .311 p < .001), habit (β = .163 p < .01), and barriers (β = -.239 p < .001) were significant correlates of professionals' behavior of encouraging patients to engage in physical activity.We explored the congruence between healthcare professionals' intention to encourage patients and the self-reported behavior of encouraging patients. We found that intention and behavior were congruent in 39.7% of the healthcare professionals. Additionally, the intention to encourage and the corresponding behavior of encouraging was incongruent in 31.7% of the healthcare professionals.ConclusionsIn the prevention of cardiovascular disease, healthcare professionals' intention to encourage physical activity among patients and subsequent behavior of encouraging patients is important for the improvement of patients' cardiovascular risk profiles. We found that the intentions and self-reported behavior of healthcare professionals working with patients with cardiovascular risk factors can be predicted by social-cognitive determinants thus implying that efforts to change and strengthen the intention-behavior relationship of healthcare professionals may have beneficial effects for cardiovascular risk patients (Trial ID: ECP-92).

A Web-Based Intervention for Health Professionals and Patients to Decrease Cardiovascular Risk Attributable to Physical Inactivity: Development Process

“…We undertook a separate planning process for health professionals because they perform different behaviors with different social-cognitive determinants related to the intention and behavior in question than their patients with cardiovascular risk factors do [18,19]. Within each step of the Intervention Mapping protocol, the application for health professionals is presented followed by the application for patients with cardiovascular risk factors.…”

“…Focus group interviews with health professionals (n = 7) revealed that encouraging patients to become physically active was seen as an integral part of their daily practice and, although perceived as relatively easy to do, patient compliance was often a problem. In previous research, we studied through questionnaire the social-cognitive determinants of intention and behavior to encourage patients with cardiovascular risk factors to become physically active [19-28]. Input for the Intervention Mapping process showed that health professionals’ encouragement of physical activity among cardiovascular patients could be predicted by high levels of intention to encourage physical activity among these patients [19].…”

“…At the initiation of the behavior change process, the health professionals filled in a questionnaire on social-cognitive determinants, intention, and behavior to encourage patients. Progress was registered and made visible in the health professionals’ coaching spider chart [19]. …”

Experienced barriers in shared decision‐making behaviour of orthopaedic surgery residents compared with orthopaedic surgeons

“…In the review by Thompson‐Leduc et al () on studies about SDM behaviour explained by the TPB, the predictability of the variance of intention varied, with R 2 values ranging from 15% to 88%. Other mentioned factors explaining intention for SDM behaviour are self‐efficacy (Foy et al, ; Ten Wolde, Dijkstra, Empelen, Knuistingh Neven, & Zitman, ) and moral and professional norms (Daneault, Beaudry, & Godin, ; Godin et al, ; Sassen, Kok, & Vanhees, ; Thompson‐Leduc et al, ). In our study, the strongest predictor for SDM intention was perceived behavioural control, a finding which is not in line with the review by Thomas Leduc et al ().…”

Nursing staff intentions towards managing deteriorating health in nursing homes: A convergent parallel mixed‐methods study using the theory of planned behaviour

“…This finding was significant because peers not only influence behaviour but also the uptake of new programs at both individual and group levels (Harvey & Kitson, 2015). The expectations of peers and the perception that others are engaged in a behaviour strengthen intention and are therefore needed when introducing an intervention (Sassen, Kok, & Vanhees, 2011). Kortteisto et al (2010) found that nurses who sensed social pressure had stronger intention towards using clinical practice guidelines than those who did not perceive social pressure.…”