Referrals from Health Care Professionals to Community-Based Exercise Programmes Targeting People with Balance and Mobility Limitations: An Interviewer-Administered Survey.

Abstract

Purpose: To describe programme representatives' perceptions of the: (1) type and work setting of health care professionals who refer to community-based exercise programmes with health care-community partnerships (CBEP-HCPs) by community size; (2) nature, frequency, and utility of strategies used to promote referral from health care professionals to CBEP-HCPs; and (3) facilitators and barriers to CBEP-HCP promotion. Method: We invited individuals involved with the Together in Movement and Exercise (TIME™) programme in 48 centres to participate in a cross-sectional survey. TIME™ is a group, task-oriented CBEP-HCP taught by fitness instructors; health care partners promote referrals. Data were summarized using frequencies and percentages. Content analysis was used for open-ended questions. Results: Twenty-three representatives of 27 TIME™ programmes (56% response rate) participated. Out of 26 health care partners identified, 69% were physical therapists. We report the most common findings: programmes received referrals from physical therapists (16, 70%); programmes gave health care partners promotional materials (e.g., flyers) to facilitate referrals (n = 17, 63%); strong relationships with health care partners facilitated promotion (n = 18, 78%); and representatives perceived their lack of credibility challenged promotion (n = 3, 23%). Conclusions: Physical therapists were the most common referral source. Health Care partners were instrumental in programme promotion. Future research is needed to leverage referrals from physical therapists in settings other than hospitals and to better understand the role of health care partners in CBEP-HCPs.