Sedentary behavior: barriers and facilitators among older adults after hip fracture surgery. A qualitative study

•Physical complaints are not the only barriers to reduce sedentary behavior.•This population also experiences poor accessibility and lack of social support.•Individual barriers like demotivation and self-ageist stereotypes also emerged.•Physical therapists should have a comprehensive approach to manage sedentary behavior.•Understand barriers and facilitators may help design future clinical trials. Understand the experience of older adults after hip fracture surgery considering barriers and facilitators related to sedentary behavior. A qualitative study using a semi-structured interview with three men and eight women aged 60 years or older after hip fracture surgery. Five barriers emerged: physical complaints, lack of accessibility, fear of falling, demotivation and negative social representation of old age, and two facilitators: overcoming dependency and having a caregiver. Our results highlight that physical complaints commonly addressed by physical therapists on their interventions are not the only impediments to reduce sedentary behavior. Important individual and social barriers should not be neglected when physical therapists conduct interventions to reduce sedentary behavior to maximize functional recovery in older adults after hip fracture surgery. Future clinical trials are required to investigate the effectiveness of more comprehensive interventions to reduce sedentary behavior in this population.