Australian patients’ perception of the efficacy of the physical activity referral scheme (PARS)

• Published in: Patient education and counseling 2021-11, Vol.104 (11), p.2803-2813
• Main Authors: Albert, Francis A., Malau-Aduli, Aduli E.O., Crowe, Melissa J., Malau-Aduli, Bunmi S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Australia; Cross-Sectional Studies; Exercise; Humans; Mixed methods; Patients’ perception; Perception; Physical activity; Physical inactivity; Referral and Consultation; Referral schemes
• ISSN: 0738-3991; 1873-5134
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2021.04.001

•Patients can boost PARS effectiveness if duly informed and supported.•Empowering patients to seek PARS referral would reduce GPs’ burden of work.•Efficient patient-HCP collaboration is key to the success of PARS.•PARS is crucial to the achievement of patients’ health and wellness goals.•PARS programmes supported and improved behavioural change for patients. Optimum physical activity (PA) interventions could be delivered via physical activity referral schemes (PARS) if utilised adequately. However, the evidence supporting PARS effectiveness is weak due to low uptake and non-adherence to interventions. Patients’ experiences of PARS were explored to obtain in-depth insight into their perceived quality of care and practical ways to optimise the programme’s effectiveness. A sequential explanatory mixed methods design was employed to probe cross-sectional quantitative survey data (n = 111) on patients’ knowledge and beliefs about PA and PARS and qualitative interview data (n = 15) on their experiences of PARS. Informed by Donabedian framework of healthcare quality assessment, quantitative and qualitative findings were integrated to identify practical ways to enhance PARS effectiveness. Participants displayed good PA knowledge, had positive beliefs and perceived PARS to be useful. Nonetheless, bottlenecks in the structure and process of PARS impact on patient health outcomes and hinder the programme’s uptake. Exploring other referral mechanisms into PARS such as self or nurse-initiated referrals could improve the programme’s visibility and effectiveness. Improved support, enhanced visibility of EPs, ongoing interactions between GPs and EPs and education about referral pathways would foster improved uptake, adherence and health outcomes for patients.