ReviewBMJ open sport & exercise medicine2021
ABC of prescribing exercise as medicine: a narrative review of the experiences of general practitioners and patients.
Review in BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The ABEL Feasibility Study (Adherence, Better Health, Exercise and Life Satisfaction): A Randomized Controlled Trial
Clinical Study Protocol on the Impact of Community-Based Exercise Training on the Exercise Capacity of Patients With Reduced Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Function
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Barriers and Facilitators Perceived by Primary Healthcare Professionals About Physical Activity Prescription, a Meta-Ethnography.Public health nursing (Boston, Mass.)Pooled it
- Redefining the role of exercise: beyond medicine and polypill.EXCLI journal · 2026Article
- From theory into practice: insights from a real-world implementation model for tailored exercise prescription in chronic diseases.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Impact of Individual Factors on Exercise Dose During a Walking Intervention in People With Stroke.Journal of neurologic physical therapy : JNPT · 2025Article
- Article
- Physical activity as clinical practice care for patients with type 2 diabetics and its implementation in routine clinical care: an expert opinion survey.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Article
- "You're stuck in the middle here": a qualitative study of GPs' experiences of managing knee pain attributed to a degenerative meniscal tear.BMC primary care · 2023Article
- Review
- Integration of exercise prescription into medical provision as a treatment for non-communicable diseases: A scoping review.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Health policy considerations for combining exercise prescription into noncommunicable diseases treatment: a narrative literature review.Frontiers in public health · 2023Review
- Perceived Knowledge and Confidence for Providing Youth-Specific Type 1 Diabetes Exercise Recommendations amongst Pediatric Diabetes Healthcare Professionals: An International, Cross-Sectional, Online Survey.Pediatric diabetes · 2023Article
- Physical Activity and Hypertension.Reviews in cardiovascular medicine · 2022Review
- BMI moderates the association between adverse childhood experiences and COPD.Journal of psychosomatic research · 2022Article
- Pilot Feasibility Assessment of a Tailored Physical Activity Prescription in Overweight and Obese People in a Public Hospital.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Barriers to and Facilitators of the Use of Digital Tools in Primary Care to Deliver Physical Activity Advice: Semistructured Interviews and Thematic Analysis.JMIR human factors · 2022Article
- How can GPs get people moving more?The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2022Article
- The Application of Exercise Prescription Education in Medical Training.Journal of medical education and curricular developmentArticle
- An exercise prescription algorithm for clinicians to use with their patients with cardiovascular disease risk factors.Digital healthArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundExercise prescribing can help patients to overcome physical inactivity, but its use in general practice is limited. The purpose of this narrative review was to investigate contemporaneous experiences of general practitioners and patients with exercise prescribing.
methodPubMed, Scopus, Science Direct and Cochrane reviews were reviewed using the terms 'exercise prescription', 'exercise prescribing', 'family practice', 'general practice', 'adults' and 'physical activity prescribing'.
resultsAfter screening by title, abstract and full paper, 23 studies were selected for inclusion. Qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods studies revealed key experiences of general practitioners and patients. Barriers identified included: physician characteristics, patients' physical and psychosocial factors, systems and cultural failures, as well as ambiguity around exercise prescribing. We present a synthesis of the key strategies to overcome these using an ABC approach: A: assessment of physical activity: involves asking about physical activity, barriers and risks to undertaking an exercise prescription; B: brief intervention: advice, written prescription detailing frequency, intensity, timing and type of exercise; and C: continued support: providing ongoing monitoring, accountability and progression of the prescription. Multiple supports were identified: user-friendly resources, workshops for doctors, guidelines for specific illnesses and multimorbidity, electronic devices, health system support and collaboration with other healthcare and exercise professionals. DISCUSSION: This review has identified levers for facilitating exercise prescribing and adherence to it. The findings have been presented in an ABC format as a guide and support for general practitioners to prescribe exercise.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.