Table 2.

Factors influencing exercise prescribing

Factors and effect	Negative influencers	Positive influencers
Family physician	Lack of available validated tools37 Lack of time37 Perceived barriers to prescribing39	Training, eg, workshop and validated tools33 37 38 40 43 44 EP materials and training packs for patients33
Patient	Physically inactive at baseline34 Seasonality and weather50 Medical conditions50 Lack of purpose after the study ended50 Lack of clarity on the purpose of the EP and what is expected of them specifically49	Education and messaging from family physician50 Prevalence of comorbidity45 Higher levels of self-efficacy and confidence in one’s readiness to change; lower BMI and lower baseline PA levels and those who had self-reported better health were more likely to attain improvements in PA levels46
Systems	There is no tradition of prescribing exercise in family practice48	EP deliverable in a 15-minute appointment28 Support from an exercise professional who provides motivational interviewing and some of the prescribing35 EP from a practice nurse36 Phone support from a exercise professional36 PA counsellor who would have the time and skills to help initiate and maintain PA47 Nurse prescriber and ongoing support41 Exercise coordinator to assist with motivation, goal setting, support and follow-up42 Postal support32
Prescription		Contains higher proportion of home-based exercises34 Walking prescription carried out individually and in everyday life46 Preceded by motivational interviewing, including readiness to change, motivation, self-efficacy and PA preferences41 Use of mHealth, including pedometers32 50 EP for older adults should contain endurance, strength, balance and flexibility components33 Monthly renewal of prescription33
Cultural, society		Building social networks to enable PA50 Better community infrastructure to provide opportunity49

BMI, body mass index; EP, exercise prescription; PA, physical activity.