“Exercise Is My Medicine”: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Experiences of Non-admitted Patients Receiving Physical Activity Promotion From Hospital Surgeons

Abstract

Background: Hospital clinicians are increasingly encouraged to use outpatient consultations as an avenue to deliver opportunistic health promotion. There is a dearth of evidence regarding the acceptance of health promotion initiatives from hospital patients themselves. Methods: We explored the experiences of non-admitted patients who, during a routine consultation with a hospital surgeon received a recommendation to increase physical activity (PA) and a recommendation to engage in a PA telephone coaching program. Twenty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals who had received the recommendation and proceeded to enroll in a telephone coaching intervention to identify factors that influenced behavior change. Data were analyzed thematically. Results: Participants' age ranged between 42 and 66 years, with the average age being 54 years. Of the participants, 15 (68%) were women and 7 (32%) were men. Three major themes were identified: (1) the hospital visit represented an opportunity for behavior change that is not to be missed; (2) surgeons were influential in promoting PA change contemplation; and (3) patients welcomed a communication style that promoted autonomy. Conclusions: Almost all patients considered receiving the recommendation to engage with the telephone coaching as acceptable and helpful toward PA change. Although working in time-restricted consultations, surgeons delivered the recommendation in a patient-centered, autonomy-supportive way, which influenced behavior change. Hospitals should explore avenues to integrate health promotion into routine care, confident of the acceptability and appropriateness of health promotion practice to hospital patients.