Barriers and determinants of pre-registered nurses and medics participation in physical activity

Blake, Holly; McGill, Francesca; Stanulewicz, Natalia

Abstract

Background: A high proportion of pre-registered healthcare professionals do not achieve recommended daily levels of physical activity, and report barriers to exercise including high levels of stress.
Aims: To assess the physical activity levels of pre-registered nurses and medics and determine patterns of barriers and determinants of exercise participation.
Methods: Online questionnaire survey was conducted with 361 pre-registered nursing (n=193) and medical students (n=168) at a teaching hospital site. Measures included the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, Benefits and Barriers to Exercise Scale, Self-Efficacy for Exercise Scale, Perceived Stress Scale and Social Support for Exercise Scale.
Results: Pre-registered nurses were less likely to be ‘active’ than pre-registered medics (35.8% compared to 47.7%). Medics perceived significantly greater benefits to exercise (nurses: M=85.06; SD=11.295; medics: M=87.18; SD=10.939) and fewer barriers to exercise (nurses: M=35.56; SD=6.004; medics: M=36.31, SD=5.859). Medics reported greater social support for physical activity from family (nurses: M=25.21, SD=11.106; medics: M=29.41, SD=11.103) and friends (nurses: M=28.72, SD=11.762; medics: M=33.12, SD=10.366) than nurses. For both, greater physical activity was associated with high self-efficacy for exercise, greater perceived support for exercise and increased perceived benefits of exercise. Barriers to exercise specific to healthcare students were raised. Stress levels were higher amongst pre-registered nurses than medics, but stress was not associated with physical activity participation.
Conclusion: Many pre-registered healthcare professionals are not active enough to benefit their health; barriers to exercise may be different for student nurses than for medics. Findings will help to develop tailored services for health promotion in university hospital settings.

Citation

Blake, H., McGill, F., & Stanulewicz, N. (2015, December). Barriers and determinants of pre-registered nurses and medics participation in physical activity. Poster presented at 2015 UKSBM Annual Scientific Meeting

• Presentation Conference Type: Poster
• Conference Name: 2015 UKSBM Annual Scientific Meeting
• Start Date: Dec 8, 2015
• End Date: Dec 9, 2015
• Deposit Date: Oct 9, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 9, 2018
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1152198