Integrating Exercise Counseling Into the Medical School Curriculum: A Workshop-Based Approach Using Behavior Change Techniques

Abstract

Objective. Physician physical activity (PA) counseling remains low due partly to lack of knowledge, emphasizing the importance of providing learning opportunities to develop competency, given the strong associations between PA and health. This study aimed to describe the behavior change techniques (BCTs) used in an “Exercise Expo” workshop and examine the workshop’s effectiveness for improving social cognitions to discuss exercise with patients. Methods. Second-year medical students (N = 54; Mage ± SD = 25.4 ± 2.95 years) completed questionnaires assessing attitudes, perceived behavior control (PBC), subjective norms, and intentions to provide PA counseling pre- and postworkshop. Repeated-measures analyses of variance evaluated changes in these theory of planned behavior constructs. Results. The most used BCTs included presenting information from credible sources, with opportunities for practicing the behavior and receiving feedback. Significant increases in attitudes, PBC and intentions to discuss PA were observed from pre-post Exercise Expo (P ≤.01). No statistically significant differences in subjective norms were observed (P =.06). Conclusions. The Exercise Expo significantly improved social cognitions for PA counseling among medical students. Future interventions should target improvements in subjective norms to increase the likelihood the workshop improves PA counseling behavior. The evidence supports the usefulness of a workshop-based educational strategy to enhance medical students’ social cognitions for PA counseling.