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E. Vourazanis1, A. Tsokani1, T. Dimopoulos1, G. Tsatsakos1, N. Strimpakos1, E. Billi2, E. Kapreli1
1University of Thessaly, Department of Physiotherapy, Lamia, Greece, 2University of Patras, Department of Physiotherapy, Patra, Greece
Background: Physical exercise is a main therapeutic method in clinical practice because it has several benefits in many different populations. Green exercise is widely being considered that incorporates an array of aspects that promote physical and mental health. Although there are accepted advantages of physical activity for people with chronic conditions their engagement in green exercise is understudied. There are plenty of factors that might facilitate or hinder these patients' involvement in green exercise.
Purpose: The current paper’s main purpose was to provide further insights regarding
(a) the factors that facilitate patients with chronic conditions engage in green exercise,
(b) barriers that deter these patients’ engagement and active participation in the relevant process of physical activity.
(a) the factors that facilitate patients with chronic conditions engage in green exercise,
(b) barriers that deter these patients’ engagement and active participation in the relevant process of physical activity.
Methods: This was a qualitative study with data from two focus groups with seven patients with chronic conditions and eight health professionals. Ethics approval was received, and purposive sampling was chosen. Specifically designed questions were used by researchers’ team according to the aims of the study. Discussions were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Consecutively, code labels were added in the transcriptions for their thematic analysis.
Results: The thematic analysis of the discussions resulted in fourteen main themes. Patients with chronic conditions, and health professionals recognized many facilitating factors as well as many barriers for green exercise. Safety concerns and inadequate infrastructures were some of the key issues chronic patients need to face when it comes to green exercise. The benefits they gain from green exercise are numerous such as mental health improvement, socialization, exercise tolerance increase, and multisensory exposure.
Conclusions: Green exercise has multiple aspects that facilitate physical activity engagement. Health professionals and patients with chronic conditions both agreed that it is an easy form of physical activity with mental and physical health benefits for the patients. In any case green exercise seems to increase exercise tolerance and as a result the compliance in physical activity. However, there are barriers that these patients have to overcome to be able to take physical exercise in nature. Most of the barriers faced were factors that could be modified by the state and the community while some other were disease-associated.
Implications: The findings of this study highlight the significant part that green exercise has in the rehabilitation process of chronic patients. There are challenges that the scientific community and the state must overcome to facilitate the access to green exercise for patients with chronic conditions.
Funding acknowledgements: Framework "Smart Tourist". Co-financed by Greece and EU (European Regional Development Fund) NSRF 2014-2020, MIS 5047243
Keywords:
Green exercise
Chronic conditions
Barriers and facilitators
Green exercise
Chronic conditions
Barriers and facilitators
Topics:
Health promotion & wellbeing/healthy ageing/physical activity
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) & risk factors
Primary health care
Health promotion & wellbeing/healthy ageing/physical activity
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) & risk factors
Primary health care
Did this work require ethics approval? Yes
Institution: Department of Physiotherapy, University of Thessaly
Committee: Committee for Research Ethics of Department of Physiotherapy
Ethics number: 3889-ΣΕ2/07-10-2019
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
