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Veterinary-Prescribed Physical Activity: Feasibility and Acceptability among Veterinary Staff and Dog Owners
- Source :
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, Iss 2339, p 2339 (2021), International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Volume 18, Issue 5
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- MDPI AG, 2021.
-
Abstract
- Physical inactivity remains a global epidemic leading to an estimated 5 million preventable deaths per year. Although there exist numerous public-health campaigns aimed at increasing physical activity (PA), a potentially fruitful but underexplored avenue to promote both human and animal health is veterinary-prescribed PA programs. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility and acceptability of incorporating veterinary-prescribed PA programming into a diverse array of clinic settings. Participants (n = 722 veterinary-clinic staff (VS)<br />n = 1028 dog owners (DOs)) completed an online survey assessing: (a) the perceived importance of PA for promoting health and preventing disease, (b) willingness to participate in a veterinary-prescribed PA program, and (c) potential benefits and barriers of such a program. Both groups of participants indicated that PA is important for both human and animal health (97% and 98% of VS and 92% and 93% of DOs said PA is very or extremely important for animal and human health, respectively). Additionally, most participants in both groups expressed an interest in participating in a veterinary-prescribed PA program in the future, with only 11% of DOs and 10% of VS saying they were not interested. Benefits and barriers of this type of intervention for both practitioners and patients were also identified. Incorporating veterinary-prescribed PA programming into veterinary clinics seems to be acceptable to both DOs and VS. Additionally, many VS believe such programming would be feasible at their clinics<br />thus, pursuing such programs appears to be a promising avenue for promoting human and animal health.
- Subjects :
- medicine.medical_specialty
Health Personnel
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Physical activity
exercise prescription
physical activity
lcsh:Medicine
Health Promotion
Disease
Veterinary Staff
Article
dog-walking
03 medical and health sciences
Dogs
0302 clinical medicine
Surveys and Questionnaires
Intervention (counseling)
medicine
Animals
Humans
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology
One Health
Animal health
business.industry
05 social sciences
lcsh:R
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
030229 sport sciences
veterinary
Family medicine
Feasibility Studies
Sedentary Behavior
business
Exercise prescription
Dog owners
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 16617827 and 16604601
- Volume :
- 18
- Issue :
- 2339
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....10f6439b42af2bf1e17590e93c5a8e78