Despite the fact that the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists recommends pregnant women who are free of obstetrical complications engage in the recommended levels of regular physical activity (RPA), women who are pregnant engage in less RPA than their nonpregnant counterparts. Healthcare providers play an integral role in advising pregnant women about physical activity;however, many healthcare providers lack the knowledge and skills needed to provide effective antenatal physical activity counseling. The present study addresses this need by developing and pilot-testing a web-based curriculum aimed to enhance patient-provider communication related to antenatal physical activity counseling. The hypotheses to be tested are that upon completion of the curriculum HCPs will 1) have enhanced interpersonal communication skills;2) report more confidence in how to successfully help patients engage in regular physical activity;and 3) provide antenatal physical activity counseling more often. This work will be completed in two stages. The first stage will pertain to developing the web-based modules by integrating findings from the formative work with evidence-based practices. The second stage will involve pilot-testing the curriculum with a group of healthcare providers who provide obstetric care. The proposed work will result in a web-based curriculum designed to increase HCPs'knowledge and skills as well as enhance patient-provider communication related to antenatal physical activity;which in turn, will promote future delivery of antenatal physical activity counseling by HCPs in primary care settings
Despite the fact that antenatal physical activity is associated with numerous maternal and child health outcomes, only a small percentage of pregnant women engage in regular physical activity. Healthcare providers play an important role in providing information and education related to antenatal physical activity;therefore, ensuring healthcare providers have adequate knowledge and skills in this area is critical. The proposed study addresses this need by developing web-based modules to enhance patient-provider communication related to antenatal physical activity.
