Counseling Interventions for Sedentary Behavior in Primary Care: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This study aimed to review the current literature on counseling to reduce sedentary behavior (SB), addressing the main theories and methods in the field. This is a systematic review covering studies conducted from January 2012 to October 2022, highlighting the most relevant contributions and emerging trends. Original intervention studies with counseling showing the outcome of SB, published in the Medline/PubMed, BVS, Scopus, and Scielo databases, in English and Portuguese, with a population over 18 years of age, and conducted in primary care, were included. The types of counseling applied in the studies were analyzed and whether the strategies were effective in reducing users' SB. The review followed the PRISMA model recommendations and found 11,514 studies. After excluding duplicates and applying the necessary filters, 2,220 articles remained. The titles and abstracts were read and inclusion/exclusion criteria were applied, resulting in 47 articles being fully analyzed by two independent researchers. After screening, three studies were selected that met all the inclusion criteria for the review. The results showed that, over the long term, the groups that received counseling experienced a significant change in SB reduction. In contrast, one of the studies showed a 98-minute/day increase in SB in the group that received exercise combined with counseling, perhaps as a way to offset the time spent in activity, where the change resulted in a 4.2-minute/day increase in MVPA. A Norwegian study was also found what showed no short-term change. It is concluded that, although there are few studies on the subject, interventions conducted in primary care (PC) with counseling are effective in reducing CS in the long term, improving health aspects .