Improving physical activity resource guides to bridge the divide between the clinic and the community

Primary care providers have limited time for physical activity counseling. They can optimize counseling time by referring patients to community resources for more comprehensive support. To facilitate referrals, resource guides (lists of community opportunities with descriptive information) are often created but seldom used. We elicited the detailed opinions of providers about how to make resource guides more useful for them.

We asked a convenience sample of health care providers open-ended questions about resource guide usefulness. Providers included 7 physicians, 6 physical/occupational therapists, 5 registered nurses, and 2 nurse practitioners practicing in diverse settings. We identified key themes using grounded theory methodology.

All participants thought resource guides were potentially useful, particularly providers who worked in communities that were socioeconomically or culturally different from their own. Perceived benefits included providing easy access to information, facilitating specific activity recommendations, and reminding health care providers about the scope of available opportunities. Participants cautioned that resource guides were not a substitute for individual recommendations or provider counseling. They said resource guide usefulness was limited by inconvenience, frustration with outdated entries, and discomfort referring patients to programs without personal experience of program quality. Providers offered suggestions for useful information to include in the resource guides.

Resource guides may offer a critical link between clinical services and community resources. Integrating guides with existing clinical systems, incorporating mechanisms for frequent updating, and providing multiple copies will help address provider concerns. Web-based resource guides may help achieve these goals.