Efficacy of exercise physiologist counselling in primary care patients: A pilot study to determine feasibility and acceptability

Introduction: GPs could play an important role in increasing population PA levels. While tools such as Lifescripts and the PA module in the clinical software Medical Director have been developed to assist GPs with this task, these do not circumvent most of the barriers to PA counselling identified by GPs. In contrast, referral of insufficiently active patients to an Exercise Physiologist (EP) for exercise coaching is a sustainable clinician initiated approach that would overcome most of the barriers. Therefore, research to determine the effectiveness of GP referral of insufficiently active adults to an EP is warranted. This pilot study tested the recruitment strategy and proposed project materials for a planned future RCT to ensure the feasibility and acceptability of the trial to GPs, practice nurses, receptionists, EPs and patients.