• Katharina Diehl, Manfred Mayer, Frank Mayer, Tatiana Görig, Christina Bock, Raphael M Herr, and Sven Schneider.
• Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Germany.
• J Phys Act Health. 2015 Feb 1; 12 (2): 216-23.

BackgroundIn physical activity (PA) counseling, primary care physicians (PCPs) play a key role because they are in regular contact with large sections of the population and are important contact people in all health-related issues. However, little is known about their attitudes, knowledge, and perceived success, as well as about factors associated with the implementation of PA counseling.MethodsWe collected data from 4074 PCPs including information on physician and practice characteristics, attitudes toward cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention, and measures used during routine practice to prevent CVD. Here, we followed widely the established 5 A's strategy (Assess, Advise, Agree, Assist, Arrange).ResultsThe majority (87.2%) of PCPs rated their own level of competence in PA counseling as 'high,' while 52.3% rated their own capability to motivate patients to increase PA as 'not good.' Nine of ten PCPs routinely provided at least 1 measure of the modified 5 A's strategy, while 9.5% routinely used all 5 intervention strategies.ConclusionsThe positive attitude toward PA counseling among PCPs should be supported by other stakeholders in the field of prevention and health promotion. An example would be the reimbursement of health counseling services by compulsory health insurance, which would enable PCPs to invest more time in individualized health promotion.

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