Table 7.

Studies of Physical Activity Counseling at PHC Centers in Saudi Arabia.

Authors (Year)	Study Objective	Study Type/Tool	Population/Sample Size	Key Finding
Al Shammari (2016) [24]	Determine the amount of physical activity to which family medicine residents adhere, and determine whether family medicine residents practice what they counsel to their patients regarding physical activity	Cross-sectional Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)	Residents of the family medicine joint program, Eastern Province (n = 80 family medicine residents)	•The majority (>70%) of physicians had a low level of physical activity •The majority (96%) did counsel their patients about physical activity, especially when the patient had diabetes
Al Jaberi (2014) [25]	Assess physical activity counseling provided by PHC physicians in the Aseer region, Saudi Arabia	Self-administered questionnaire; Physician-Based Assessment and Counseling for Exercise (PACE) Program	PHC physiciansin the Aseer region (n = 232)	•More than half of primary health care physicians in the Aseer region are physically inactive •They show support for physical activity counseling to their clients •Most of them consider that lack of time, lack of training, and shortages of health educational materials are the most common barrier to conducting effective counseling in their practices
Al-nahdi (2006) [27]	Assess physician knowledge of the current physical activity guidelines and the current practice of physical activity counseling in PHC; identify the barriers related to the promotion of physical activity	Cross-sectional descriptive analytic study	Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia (n = ?)	•Physicians believe it is important to talk to all patients regarding physical activity, especially patients with risk factors for chronic disease, such as being overweight and having diabetes •Most physicians assess at least those patients with a pre-existing condition or a risk factor for chronic diseases •Most of the physicians were not aware of the current physical activity guidelines. It was observed that lack of time was one of the main barriers to physical activity counseling
AlRashdi (2015) [26]	Determine the attitude of primary care physicians toward promoting regular physical activity; determine the barriers to promoting physical activity	Cross-sectional	Prince Sultan Military Medical City Riyadh Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (n = 80 physicians)	The physicians’ attitudes were good, but consideration should be given to overcome the barriers to achieve health goals related to promoting regular physical activity