Elsevier

Preventive Medicine

Volume 99, June 2017, Pages 152-163
Preventive Medicine

Review Article
What do we know about brief interventions for physical activity that could be delivered in primary care consultations? A systematic review of reviews

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2017.02.017Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Brief interventions (BIs) can increase short-term, self-reported physical activity.

  • Uncertainty remains about the long-term impact of BIs on physical activity.

  • Definitions of BIs include interventions that may not be feasible in primary care.

  • Future research should develop and evaluate very brief interventions (VBIs).

Abstract

This systematic review of reviews aims to investigate how brief interventions (BIs) are defined, whether they increase physical activity, which factors influence their effectiveness, who they are effective for, and whether they are feasible and acceptable. We searched CINAHL, Cochrane database of systematic reviews, DARE, HTA database, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Science Citation Index-Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index, and Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network from their inception until May 2015 to identify systematic reviews of the effectiveness of BIs aimed at promoting physical activity in adults, reporting a physical activity outcome and at least one BI that could be delivered in a primary care setting. A narrative synthesis was conducted. We identified three specific BI reviews and thirteen general reviews of physical activity interventions that met the inclusion criteria. The BI reviews reported varying definitions of BIs, only one of which specified a maximum duration of 30 min. BIs can increase self-reported physical activity in the short term, but there is insufficient evidence about their long-term impact, their impact on objectively measured physical activity, and about the factors that influence their effectiveness, feasibility and acceptability. Current definitions include BIs that are too long for primary care consultations. Practitioners, commissioners and policy makers should be aware of this when interpreting evidence about BIs, and future research should develop and evaluate very brief interventions (of 5 min or less) that could be delivered in a primary care consultation.

Abbreviations

BI
brief intervention
PA
physical activity
VBI
very brief intervention

Keywords

Systematic review
Physical activity
Brief interventions
Primary care

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