A 10-hours workshop improves physical activity prescription for mental illness knowledge and confidence in health care professionals: a nation-wide multicentre study from Uganda

Abstract

Purpose Lack of knowledge about and confidence in physical activity (PA) prescription for people with mental illness are important barriers for clinical practice in low-income countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a 10-hour workshop improved the knowledge and confidence in PA prescription among health care professionals in 13 regional referral hospitals across Uganda.

Material and methods 260 health care professionals (age = 40.4 ± 10.8 years; 48% women; 63.8% nurses, 10% social workers, 8.1% psychologists, 7.3% medical doctors, 5.8% psychiatrists, 5% physical or occupational therapists) completed the Exercise in Mental Illness Questionnaire – Health Professionals Version (EMIQ-HP) pre- and post-workshop.

Results The EMIQ-HP PA knowledge score (3.1 ± 0.7 versus 1.3 ± 1.3, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 1.28, 95% confidence interval, CI = 1.04–1.52, i.e., large effect) and EMIQ-HP confidence in PA prescription score (3.0 ± 0.8 versus 1.2 ± 1.2, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 1.14, 95% CI = 0.91–1.36, i.e., large effect) improved significantly following training. Significantly more benefits and fewer barriers to prescribing PA in busy low-resourced settings were reported.

Conclusions Training in PA counseling improved the knowledge and confidence in PA prescription in Ugandan health care professionals. Future research should investigate whether PA uptake in people with mental illness can be improved via additional training of health care professionals.