RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Promoting physical activity in primary care: a systematic review and meta-analysis JF British Journal of General Practice JO Br J Gen Pract FD British Journal of General Practice SP BJGP.2020.0817 DO 10.3399/BJGP.2020.0817 A1 Veronika van der Wardt A1 Claudio di Lorito A1 Annika Viniol YR 2021 UL http://bjgp.org/content/early/2021/02/02/BJGP.2020.0817.abstract AB Background: Promoting physical activity is an important part of patient care in primary care and has been investigated in many studies with a wide range of intervention characteristics often including external support. It is unclear, however, if promoting physical activity is effective. Aim: To investigate the effectiveness of behaviour change interventions to promote physical activity in primary care. Design and Setting: This is a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate physical activity promotion in a primary care setting. Method: Embase, Medline, PsycInfo and the Joanna Briggs Institute Database were searched for ‘physical activity’, ‘interview’, ‘motivation’, ‘primary care’ and equivalent words to identify randomized controlled trials with physical activity as outcome at patient level. Results: The review identified 23 eligible studies. The quality appraisal showed that most studies reported insufficient details regarding randomization, group allocation, blinding and fidelity of intervention delivery. The included studies reported a wide range of interventions with varying numbers of follow-up visits or phone calls. The overall effect size for interventions with a 6 months follow-up interval was 0.04 (95% CI -0.05 to 0.13), for interventions with a 12 months follow-up interval 0.2 (95% CI 0.04 to 0.36). Only one intervention based on three motivational interviewing sessions achieved a moderate effect. Conclusion: Counselling to promote physical activity in primary care has a limited effect on patients’ behaviour and might not be, on its own, enough to change physical activity behaviour.