Moving patients towards a more active lifestyle: the GP Physical Activity Project in South Eastern Sydney Area Health Service

Issue addressed Improving population levels of physical activity is a state and national priority. One potential way to achieve this is to encourage GPs to provide brief physical activity advice during a normal consultation. Methods The GP/Physical Activity Project worked with three divisions of general practice in the South Eastern Sydney Area Health Service. The project was implemented in two geographical areas and at different times. Participating GPs were provided with a seminar on promoting physical activity, academic detailing and resources to enable the GP to provide brief physical activity advice. Participating GPs received continuing medical education points and practice assessment points. Results Thirty-nine GPs completed 524 pre-tests assessing patient physical activity levels; 404 of these patients received a posttest telephone interview. Similar results for minutes of walking were obtained in both areas where the project was implemented. Mean number of minutes spent walking rose from 105 to 123 in the southern area and from 141 to 162 in the eastern area. Other results included a decrease in the percentage of people who reported doing no walking. All these results were significant. Conclusions Population levels of physical activity can be improved by working with GPs. Our experience demonstrates it can be done within the budgetary constraints of health promotion units. So what Promotion of physical activity using brief intervention and GPs is a low-cost way to achieve public health outcomes. If the project is viewed as an investment, the analogy is one of low risk with good returns. Physical activity brief intervention is an adjunct to other strategies needed to increase population levels of physical activity and warrants further dissemination.