Physical activity counseling in Primary Health Care

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and examine the correlates of physical activity counseling by primary health care professionals in Florianopolis, state of Santa Catarina. A face-face survey was carried out with 587 professionals from 49 Health Centers. Physical activity counseling was evaluated in the last 12 months. The correlates explored in the association were sociodemographic, training and professional performance, knowledge of physical activity recommendations and physical activity level. The prevalence of physical activity counseling was 86.2% (95%CI=83.2-88.8%). The professionals most likely to provide counseling were those with graduate degrees in Public Health (OR=3.71; 95%CI: 1.69-9.37), who had academic experiences in primary health care (OR=2.68; 95%CI: 1.32-5.92), who belonged to the Family Health Support Center (OR=4.52; 95%CI: 1.31-28.50), who participated in meetings of physical activity (OR=1.91; 95%CI: 1.08-3.44) and were physically active (OR=1.80; 95%CI: 1.01-3.27). The results show that aspects of training and professional performance and the physical activity level of professionals contribute positively to counseling for physical activity in primary health care.