Physical activity counseling strategies used by the Extended Family Health Care in Florianópolis

Abstract

Counseling strategies, such as the 5A model, can provide important changes in physical activity. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of physical activity counseling strategies used by professionals of the Extended Family Health and Primary Care Center (NASF-AB) of Florianópolis according to the 5As model. A survey was conducted with NASF-AB professionals. The collection took place in the planning meetings of the Health Centers. There were 72 professionals, 40 employees and 32 residents. Most of the professionals reported some physical activity counseling in the last 12 months (97.2%). Among the professionals who reported some type of counseling, the most reported counseling strategies focus on "As" ask (94.1%), advise (98.5%) and assist (95.7%). The least reported strategy was arranging (25.7%). The most used resource was to indicate the participation in groups of physical activity of the Health Center. It is concluded that NASF-AB professionals perform physical activity counseling and use some strategies according to the 5A model, although they are not used in a systematic way. Therefore, it is recommended to invest in lifelong education in the use of tools for evaluation (asses) and in the improvement of strategies to follow up (effectiveness) to improve the practice of counseling.