Active Aging Toolkit Offers Assistance to Physicians in Addressing Physical Activity With Patients

ORLANDO, Fla. (Nov. 13, 2004) – The “Active Aging Toolkit for Healthcare Providers,” a scientifically-based activity guide to help healthcare professionals prescribe physical activity programs for their patients, was introduced at the American Academy of Family Physicians Annual Scientific Assembly in Orlando last month.

Developed by leading physicians, researchers, and physical therapists, the Active Aging Toolkit provides a solution to the epidemic of physical inactivity among older adults. The toolkit creators are partners in the National Blueprint Project, a collaboration of more than 50 public and private organizations whose goal is to promote physical activity among older adults. A key strategy of the National Blueprint initiative is to develop resources for health care professionals to make personalized physical activity prescriptions for their patients.

The Toolkit instructs physicians on techniques to counsel their patients, including behavioral counseling, physical assessment, and goal setting. It includes a provider manual as well as patient education materials to help teach patients how to safely begin a physical activity program.

The Toolkit offers a scientifically-based activity program, the First Step to Active Health™, which is a step-by-step activity program that provides specific interventions to improve functional ability, promote independence, help prevent chronic disease and disability, and encourage healthy lifestyles in older adults.

“We know that physical activity should be prescribed for virtually any patient with a stable medical condition,” said Toolkit co-author Robert Pallay, MD, a family physician with the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey. “The Toolkit teaches us how to be more effective at counseling patients on increasing physical activity, which is a major objective of the AIM (Americans in Motion) initiative.” AIM, a 10-year program to promote physical activity in their patients, was recently launched by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

A 1992 clinical study, the Activity Counseling Trial, found that primary care physicians and healthcare professionals are the most influential in motivating patients to exercise, but they often lack the tools to recommend a physical activity program. Last month, a study conducted by the Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Calif., reported that less than 30 percent of physician-visits with patients at-risk for heart disease included counseling on increasing physical activity.

Physical inactivity can lead to life-threatening diseases such as cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death among older adults. Regular physical activity can modify key risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease, such as hypertension, obesity, and diabetes, yet 60 percent of the population fails to meet the Centers for Disease Control’s recommended 30 minutes of moderate activity most days of the week. Physical activity and nutrition are second only to tobacco use in modifiable risk factors that cause death.

Toolkit co-author Christine Fordyce, MD, a family physician and Medicare Medical Director with Group Health in Seattle, Wash., is evaluating the effects of the physical activity programming element of the Toolkit, the First Step to Active Health, on her patients with diabetes.

“The first prescription a doctor should write for virtually every patient should be an exercise prescription,” said Fordyce. “Physical activity is an important part of treating many chronic diseases. The research clearly shows that increasing physical activity can replace medication for many diabetic patients, saving themselves and their health plans money, while at the same time, helping manage many other coinciding conditions. The cost of this program is much less than the medication.”

“Some patients may need a little more supervision, particularly those with chronic musculoskeletal conditions such as arthritis or osteoporosis,” said Phil Page, PT, Baton Rouge, La., co-author of the Toolkit. “Physical therapists and other healthcare providers can be an important part of the team assisting physicians. In those situations, the physical therapist can help develop a therapeutic exercise program designed specifically for an individual’s needs, abilities, and goals.”

The First Step to Active Health is also being used in trials by family physicians in Wichita, Kan., Akron, Ohio, and New Orleans, La. As its effectiveness is clinically proven, it could help reduce healthcare-related expenditures on cardiovascular disease, which were estimated at $209 billion in 2003, and lead to changes in policies that discourage physicians from counseling patients on preventative services by limiting reimbursements.

The Toolkit was developed in response to a call-to-action by the National Blueprint Initiative www.agingblueprint.org. The American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Sports Medicine, American Geriatrics Society, American Physical Therapy Association, National Center for Physical Activity and Disability, the President’s Challenge, and Thera-Band® Products are educational partners who promote the Toolkit as a means to improve health and functional ability in older adults.

To download the complete Active Aging Toolkit, visit www.FirstSteptoActiveHealth.com