Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jun 21;11(7):123.
doi: 10.3390/sports11070123.

Expert Opinions about Barriers and Facilitators to Physical Activity Participation in Ghanaian Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

Mohammed Amin  1 , Debra Kerr  1 , Yacoba Atiase  2 , Yusif Yakub  3 , Andrea Driscoll  1
Affiliations

Expert Opinions about Barriers and Facilitators to Physical Activity Participation in Ghanaian Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

Mohammed Amin et al. Sports (Basel). .

Abstract

Most adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) do not meet their physical activity (PA) goals despite its importance in improving their health outcomes. Our study aim was to explore the opinions of healthcare professionals regarding barriers and facilitators to PA participation in Ghanaian adults with T2DM. Using qualitative descriptive design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 13 healthcare professionals experienced in diabetes management in Ghana. Three main themes relating to PA barriers and facilitators were identified in a thematic analysis: health system-related factors, healthcare practitioner factors, and patient factors. Inadequate accessibility to physical therapists and therapy centres hindered the provision of PA programs. Nurses and doctors lacked sufficient knowledge and training on effective PA interventions for individuals with T2DM. Time constraints during patient consultations limited discussions on PA, while the cost associated with accessing physical therapy posed a significant challenge. Patients often disregarded PA advice from physical therapists due to their reliance on doctors, and some perceived PA as irrelevant for diabetes treatment. Despite these barriers, healthcare professionals expressed belief in PA facilitators, including integrating physical therapists and diabetes educators into diabetes care, providing structured exercise resources, improving curriculum planning to emphasise PA in health science education, and addressing knowledge gaps and misconceptions. Overall, this study highlights patient-related and healthcare system-related factors that influence PA behaviour in Ghanaian adults with T2DM. Findings from this study should inform the development of tailored PA programs for this population.

Keywords: Ghana; adults; barriers; exercise; facilitators; healthcare professionals; physical activity; qualitative study; type 2 diabetes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Aschner P. New IDF clinical practice recommendations for managing type 2 diabetes in primary care. Diabetes Res. Clin. Pract. 2017;132:169. doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2017.09.002. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Waddell J. An update on type 2 diabetes management in primary care. Nurse Pract. 2017;42:20–29. doi: 10.1097/01.NPR.0000520827.83911.28. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hayfron-Benjamin C., van den Born B.J., van der Zee A.H.M., Amoah A.G.B., Meeks K.A.C., Klipstein-Grobusch K., Bahendeka S., Spranger J., Danquah I., Mockenhaupt F., et al. Microvascular and macrovascular complications in type 2 diabetes Ghanaian residents in Ghana and Europe: The RODAM study. J. Diabetes Complicat. 2019;33:572–578. doi: 10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2019.04.016. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Johnson N.A., Barwick A.L., Searle A., Spink M.J., Twigg S.M., Chuter V.H. Self-reported physical activity in community-dwelling adults with diabetes and its association with diabetes complications. J. Diabetes Complicat. 2019;33:33–38. doi: 10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2018.10.017. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gero K., Iso H., Kitamura A., Yamagishi K., Yatsuya H., Tamakoshi A. Cardiovascular disease mortality in relation to physical activity during adolescence and adulthood in Japan: Does school-based sport club participation matter? Prev. Med. 2018;113:102–108. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.05.012. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources