Exercise Referral Instructors’ Perspectives on Supporting and Motivating Participants to Uptake, Attend and Adhere to Exercise Prescription: A Qualitative Study

Colin B. Shore, Stuart D. R. Galloway, Trish Gorely, Angus M. Hunter and Gill Hubbard
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Colin B. Shore: Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, School of Health Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7YH, UK
Stuart D. R. Galloway: Physiology, Exercise and Nutrition Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
Trish Gorely: Department of Nursing and Midwifery, University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), Inverness IV2 3JH, UK
Angus M. Hunter: Physiology, Exercise and Nutrition Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
Gill Hubbard: Department of Nursing and Midwifery, University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), Inverness IV2 3JH, UK

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 19, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Exercise referral schemes are designed to support people with non-communicable diseases to increase their levels of exercise to improve health. However, uptake and attendance are low. This exploratory qualitative study aims to understand uptake and attendance from the perspectives of exercise referral instructors using semi-structured interviews. Six exercise referral instructors from one exercise referral scheme across four exercise referral sites were interviewed. Four themes emerged: (i) the role that instructors perceive they have and approaches instructors take to motivate participants to take-up, attend exercise referral and adhere to their exercise prescription; (ii) instructors’ use of different techniques, which could help elicit behaviour change; (iii) instructors’ perceptions of participants’ views of exercise referral schemes; and (iv) barriers towards providing an exercise referral scheme. Exercise referral instructors play an important, multifaceted role in the uptake, attendance and adherence to exercise referral. On-going education and peer support for instructors may be useful. Instructors’ perspectives help us to further understand how health and leisure services can design successful exercise referral schemes.

Keywords: community-based research; exercise prescription; physical activity; motivation; public health practice; behaviour change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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