Access to places for physical activity among users of Basic Health Units

Abstract

The aim of the study was to describe the prevalence of access to places for physical activity (PA) practice among users of Primary Health Care Unit (PHCU) in the urban area of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul. A cross-sectional, community based study was carried out with users aged 18 years or older who had ever received PA counseling at the PHCU and who were in the waiting rooms of the services. Socioeconomic, demographic, behavioral, health and access to PA variables were analyzed. To verify the outcome, access to PA facilities/spaces, we used the following question: “After physical activity counseling, did you had access to some place where you could perform physical activities?”. In the 31 PHCU visited, 248 users were interviewed. The prevalence of access to places for PA practice was 52.8%, the public places were the most accessed (63.4%). Among those who did not have access, 46.2% did not look for a place and 29.2% reported that there was no adequate public place. It was concluded that although PHCU users consider PA as important for health and despite having received counseling for PA, just over half of interviewees have access to PA practice places.