Exercise Is Medicine: Does Health And Sport Science Professionals Prescribing It To Patients With Non Communicable Diseases (Ncds) In Jimma Town

Abstract

Background: Regular physical activities play an important role in the primary andsecondarypreventionofseveralchronicdiseases. The main aim of the study was to investigate whether health care professionals are prescribing physical exercise as medicine to patients for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and the factors limiting them not to prescribe physical exercise in selected hospitals and sport science professionals in Jimma town. Methods: Thetotal targetpopulationwas1000professionals from (nurse=86, internist=34, physician=107, sport science professionals=73) the sample size of the study was 227 health professionals by proportionality and 73 sport science professionals by availability sampling. Descriptive survey cross section method would used to conduct this studythefromhealth and sport science professionals to collect date. Self-administer questionnaire were used from two government and two privet hospital was byrandom sampling method. The source of data was primary data. The data analysed by quantitatively and interpreted throughpercentage, frequency or numbers, table. Result::The health professionals and sport science professionals reported 71.3% of professionals had poor written exercise prescription ,70% of professionals had inadequate knowledge about exercise prescription66% of professionals responded that there in written guidelines. The analysis of regression shows that gender(male: OR 0.51,95%CL 0.27to 0.94) ,institution(primary hospital :OR3.38,95%CL 0.86 to 13.2),service years(6 to 10 years: OR 1.43,95CL 0.39 to 5.15),specialty(nurse: OR 0.66,95% CL 0.3 to1.4),marital status(married: OR 0.94,95% CL0.45 to 1.96)were associated with physical exercise prescription for their patients. Conclusion:The exercise prescription of knowledge, practice, confidence, trends and desire of majority of health professionals regarding to prescribe exercise for non-communicable diseases to patients were poor. In many hospitals some health professionals is not appreciated patients to do exercise. Inadequate awareness of professional‟s concerning to benefits of exercises to patients.