Using a socioecologial approach to explore the integration of exercise physiologists into primary healthcare teams in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Limited research has explored the integration of Clinical Exercise Physiologists (CEPs) into primary healthcare in Canada. As part of a clinical exercise referral program at Memorial University, graduate students recognized as CEPs participated in four month placements at local family medicine clinics. This thesis aims to explore the experiences of CEPs and physicians during the integration of CEPs into healthcare teams and identify challenges and opportunities that could impact broader implementation of this referral program. In this qualitative study, four CEPs and five physicians participated in semi-structured individual interviews designed to explore their experiences with the referral program using a Socio-Ecological Model. Four main themes emerged from the data: (1) CEP-led advocacy for exercise referral in healthcare, (2) gaps in training and regulation of CEPs, (3) unclear role for exercise professionals within healthcare, and (4) policy and organizational changes to improve exercise referral. The findings of this study provide an understanding of the current challenges and opportunities of integrating CEPs into a primary healthcare team, and will help to guide efforts to expand multidisciplinary healthcare in Newfoundland and Labrador
