Isolated and simultaneous perceived barriers to physical activity counseling

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of perceived barriers and their isolated and simultaneous association with the practice of counseling for physical activity by primary health care workers. This is a cross-sectional study with 591 health workers, who work in the Family Health Teams. Counseling for physical activity was defined as the accomplishment of such a practice for more than six months. The barriers investigated were lack of time, lack of knowledge, lack of professionals to guide, lack of available instructional material, lack of environmental resources and lack of financial resources of the user. Binary logistic regression was used to evaluate the possible relationships between perceived barriers and the practice of counseling for physical activity. Non-counselors reported a lack of time (68.8%), knowledge (68.5%) and orientation (63.2%) compared to their peer counselors (p ≤ 0.001). Professionals with three or more barriers were more likely not to advise (OR = 3.91; 95%CI: 2.10 - 7.29) when compared to those who reported no concurrent barriers. These results indicate that the simultaneity of perceived barriers is negatively associated to the practice of counseling for physical activity of health workers.