Physical Therapists' knowledge about active lifestyle and sedentary behavior in post-stroke subjects: an observational study.

Research Objectives: to evaluate the knowledge of physical therapists in Brazil about the post-stroke active lifestyle and to compare those who work with neurofunctional rehabilitation to those who do not.

Design: Cross-sectional study (survey).

Setting: Physiotherapy Outpatient Ambulatory of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Trairi, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte.

Participants: A convenience sample of 174 participants answered the survey (n=128 neurofunctional area, n=46 general area).

Interventions: The survey was registered on the Google Forms® and was sent through social medias and email registered in the Regional Councils of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy in Brazil. Questions about health promotion and secondary prevention, including self-management, reduced of sedentary time and strategies of cardiovascular rehabilitation were included in this form.

Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome was that the Brazilian physiotherapists had limited knowledge about active lifestyle and sedentary behavior in stroke patients. The secondary outcome was the physical therapist of neurofunctional area demonstrated more comprehension about active lifestyle and sedentary behavior in stroke patients than general area ones.

Results: The most part of the responders were women (63.39%) and 35.06% had 1 to 3 years of professional experience. The neurofunctional group claimed to have knowledge of studies that prove the effectiveness of aerobic training in post-stroke patients (n=104, 81.25%) while the general group was unaware of these studies (n=24, 52.17%) (p < 0.0001). Both groups agree that aerobic training (p=0.0003) and physical conditioning protocol 3 to 5 times a week, with 30 to 50 minutes a day (p=0.0011) is beneficial for stroke patients. The expression sedentary behavior and the importance for rehabilitation was not recognized by most participants (50% neurofunctional group and 58.7% general group).

Conclusions: There was a gap in the knowledge about active lifestyle and sedentary behavior in post stroke subjects by Brazilian physical therapists. Even the neurofunctional group recognize studies about this topic, there was no superiority in the knowledge when compared to general area professionals. Health education programs should be offered in order to minimize this gap.

Author(s) Disclosures: No conflict of interests.