Evaluating the effects of behavior change training on the knowledge, confidence and skills of sport and exercise science students

The Impact of Physical Activity Behavior Change Training for Preprofessional Health Students-A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Health professionals play a crucial role in promoting physical activity, but the impact of physical activity behavior change training on preprofessional health students is underresearched. This systematic review examined the impact of such training for preprofessional health students.

METHODS

We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, PsycInfo, and CINAHL up to October 2024. Included studies reported training interventions for preprofessional health students, with outcomes related to changes in knowledge, skills, confidence, and attitudes/intentions toward physical activity promotion. Inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed studies published in English, excluding qualitative studies, reviews, study protocols, and grey literature. The Risk Of Bias In Non-randomized Studies of Interventions tool was used to assess risk of bias. A narrative synthesis was conducted due to study heterogeneity, with meta-analysis not feasible. The review was registered prospectively with PROSPERO (CRD42023428847).

RESULTS

Sixteen studies from 8 countries were included (median duration: 23 weeks), featuring training approaches such as theoretical, practical, or mixed learning. Participants included medical, nursing, physiotherapy, pharmacy, or other health-related degree students. All studies reported positive effects on knowledge, skills, confidence, or attitudes. Approaches combining theoretical and practical components yielded higher improvements in knowledge and confidence compared with single-component approaches. Risk of bias was high in 12/16 studies.

CONCLUSIONS

Training preprofessional health students in physical activity support and behavior change can enhance their knowledge, skills, confidence, or attitudes in this area. Variability in methods and risk of bias in the included studies necessitate caution in interpretation. Assessment of long-term training impacts on both preprofessional health students and patient outcomes is needed.

Interventions with a clear focus on achieving behaviour change are important for maintaining training-related gains in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review

QUESTIONS

In people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who complete an exercise training program (ETP) offered at a sufficient dose to result in training-related gains, to what extent are these gains maintained 12 months after program completion? Do variables such as the application of behaviour change techniques moderate the maintenance of these training-related gains?

DESIGN

Systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of randomised controlled trials.

PARTICIPANTS

People with stable COPD.

INTERVENTION

Trials were included if they applied ≥ 4 weeks of a whole-body ETP and reported outcome data immediately following program completion and 12 months after initial program completion. The control group received usual care that did not include a formal exercise training component.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Exercise tolerance, health-related quality of life and dyspnoea during activities of daily living.

DATA SOURCES

EMBASE, PEDro, PubMed and the Cochrane Library.

RESULTS

Nineteen randomised trials with 2,103 participants were found, of which 12 had a sufficiently similar design to be meta-analysed. At 12 months after ETP completion, compared with the control group, the experimental group demonstrated better exercise tolerance (SMD 0.48, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.77) and quality of life (SMD 0.22, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.41) with no clear effect on dyspnoea. Meta-regression using data from all 19 trials demonstrated that the magnitude of between-group differences at the 12-month follow-up was moderated by: behaviour change being a core aim of the strategies implemented following completion of the ETP; the experimental group receiving more behaviour change techniques during the program; and the magnitude of between-group change achieved from the program.

CONCLUSION

At 12 months after completion of an ETP of ≥ 4 weeks, small gains were maintained in exercise tolerance and health-related quality of life. Applying behaviour change techniques with a clear focus on participants integrating exercise into daily life beyond initial program completion is important to maintain training-related gains.

REGISTRATION

CRD42020193833.

Motivational interviewing-an evidence-based, collaborative, goal-oriented communication approach in lifestyle medicine: A comprehensive review of the literature

The global threat of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is alarmingly increasing. The health and economic burden of improper lifestyle choices is immense. Reducing modifiable risk factors has been demonstrated to significantly prevent chronic diseases. At this crucial time, lifestyle medicine (LM) has been recognized as an evidence-based medical domain applicable to NCDs. Among the tools used in LM, motivational interviewing (MI) is a patient-centered, collaborative counseling approach. In this evidence-based review article, we discuss recent literature on the application of MI in the six LM pillars defined by the British Society of LM (BSLM): healthy eating, mental wellbeing, healthy relationships, physical activity, minimizing harmful substances, and sleep. MI helps strengthen patients' motivation to ameliorate behaviorally influenced health problems, improve treatment adherence, and optimize medical interventions. Technically correct, theoretically congruent, and psychometrically sound MI interventions yield satisfactory outcomes and help improve patient quality of life. Lifestyle change is often a gradual process involving multiple efforts and setbacks. MI is based on the idea that change is a process rather than an event. Extensive literature evidence supports the benefits of MI treatment, and interest in research on MI application is increasing across all BSLM pillars. MI helps people alter their thoughts and feelings about making changes by recognizing obstacles to change. Even interventions of short duration have been reported to yield better outcomes. Healthcare professionals must understand the relevance and importance of MI in clinical practice.

Australian University Nursing and Allied Health Students' and Staff Physical Activity Promotion Preparedness and Knowledge: A Pre-Post Study Using an Educational Intervention

The promotion of physical activity (PA) by health professionals is a key strategy to increase PA levels in the population. In this study, we investigated PA promotion, preparedness, and knowledge among university nursing and allied health students and staff, as well as PA resource usage within curricula, before and after an educational intervention. Students and staff from 13 health disciplines at one Australian university were invited to complete an online survey, and a curriculum audits were conducted before and after PA teaching resources were promoted by academic PA champions (n = 14). A total of 299 students and 43 staff responded to the survey pre-intervention, and 363 and 32 responded to the post-intervention, respectively. PA promotion role perception (≥93%) and confidence to provide general PA advice (≥70%) were high throughout the study. Knowledge of PA guidelines was poor (3−10%). Students of physiotherapy, sport and exercise science, as well as more active students, were more likely to be aware of the PA guidelines (p < 0.05). Over 12 months, PA promotion preparedness and knowledge did not change significantly, nor was there a change in the amount of PA content delivered, despite a significant increase in the use of the teaching resources across a number of disciplines (p = 0.007). Future research should be carried out to investigate the implementation of the resources over time and to develop additional strategies for PA promotion and education scaffolded across curricula.

The Rehabilitation Training Simulation of High Difficulty Movement and Sports Strain Site Based on Big Data

We study the rehabilitation training of damaged parts of ice and snow sports clock and ensure the physical safety of athletes. The results show that the RBF neural network updates the center, weight, and width of the radial basis function, and the predicted maximum compliance is 99%, and the minimum compliance is 93%. After many analysis times, the prediction results show that the difference between the predicted degree of conformity and the actual results is less than 8%. The RBF neural network is trained according to the risk database of sports injury, and the RBF neural network will output corresponding values to realize sports injury estimation. The experimental results show that the designed model has high precision and efficiency.