Year: 2016
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The overlap in physical impairments and rehabilitative management for heart failure (HF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), stroke, and diabetes supports the potential for an integrated symptom-directed approach to long-term management and physical activity promotion. The main objective of this thesis was to align the evidence across conditions to allow for comparison of PA levels following rehabilitation and to evaluate whether individuals with HF, COPD, stroke, and diabetes experience similar barriers to PA following discharge from rehabilitation. The first study in this thesis showed that physical activity levels for diabetic adults with a transtibial amputation remain stable following discharge from prosthetic rehabilitation, but fall well below recommended guidelines of 150 minutes/week for adults with diabetes. In the second study, we found similarly low levels of physical activity following rehabilitation for individuals with HF and COPD. In this study, participants also expressed the need for minimally supervised community-based programs tailored to functional ability to support adherence to exercise and prescribed activity following rehabilitation. The third study identified similar perceptions across chronic conditions with respect to barriers to and facilitators of physical activity in the community. However significant differences were found between healthcare professionals and older adults with chronic disease with the respect to their perception of barriers. The findings from the three studies included in this thesis support the need for exercise maintenance programs following rehabilitation and the potential for an integrated approach to management.
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Laura Desveaux
Language: English
Topic: Physical Activity and Health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2564902827