Resources to support physical activity for chronic health conditions

Active For Health is an online 'toolkit' of resources to help people living with chronic health conditions be more physically active.

This toolkit is unique. It provides links to excellent resources that support physical activity for different types of chronic health conditions.

All of the resources in the toolkit have been evaluated to ensure they are appropriate, user-friendly and are in alignment with the evidence from healthcare research.

The following diagram shows the process taken to come up with the best possible 'toolkit'. Over 100 volunteers participated in developing the 'toolkit, including persons with chronic conditions (PWCC), healthcare professionals and healthcare researchers.

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*Each resource was evaluated using the following tools and process:

• The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT; https://www.ahrq.gov/health-literacy/patient-education/pemat.html) was used for all resources that were designed for persons with chronic conditions/the general public.
• A 'purpose-built' assessment tool incorporating key features of the PEMAT, Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation II (AGREE II) Instrument, the 2009 National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Evidence and Grades Tool, and the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP) Resource Review Tool were used for all resources that were designed for health care
• Training and practice sessions were provided for all those who contributed to evaluating the resources.
• Two people independently evaluated each resource and, when there was a discrepancy in scores of greater than 20%, a third person evaluated the resource.
• Please note, the 'purpose-built' assessment tool was not utilized to evaluate resources from the American College of Sports Medicine within the Health Care Professionals section of Helping You Make It Happen as these are peer-reviewed publications within ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal.

Where to find more details about the process for developing ActiveForHealth

Documents providing more details of the process are available at https://physicaltherapy.med.ubc.ca/physical-therapy-knowledge-broker/physical-activity-support-kit-initiative-paski-move-more-sit-less/

1. A list of all persons with chronic conditions, health care professionals, researchers, and students who contributed to the development of ActiveForHealth
2. Summary of the baseline survey to persons with chronic conditions/the general public
3. Summary of the results from the baseline survey to health care professionals
4. Summary of the results from the survey regarding preferred websites and format for the toolkit

Steering Committee

Dr. Marie Westby, PT Clinical Resource Therapist, Mary Pack Arthritis Program & Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, UBC

Dr. Lynne Feehan, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, UBC and Knowledge Translation Lead, BC SUPPORT Unit

Dr. Kimberly Miller, Senior Leader of Clinical Education and Special Projects, Sunny Hill Health Centre at BC Children’s Hospital and Adjunct Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, UBC.

Dr. Zainisha Vasanji, Qualified Exercise Professional, Physical Activity Line & HealthLink BC Physical Activity Services

Chiara Singh, Clinical Supervisor, Physiotherapy, Surrey Memorial Hospital & Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, UBC

Gregory Noonan, Physiotherapy Practice Coordinator, Vancouver Coastal Health

Alison Hoens, Knowledge Broker & Clinical Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, UBC

The Steering Committee sincerely appreciates the contributions of all persons with chronic conditions, health care professionals, researchers, etc. who kindly gave of their time and talents in the development of Active For Health.

Last updated: November 2021