Using the Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation (COM-B) Model to Understand Physical Activity Prescribing Behaviour among Healthcare Providers

One promising method of addressing declining physical activity (PA) participation is prescription-based-PA whereby healthcare providers (HCPs) write movement recommendations tailored to patient needs. Prescription-to-Get-Active (RxTGA), a not-for-profit organization based in Alberta, Canada, allows HCPs to prescribe PA to patients who do not meet national activity guidelines. The Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation (COM-B) Behaviour Model is a health-promotion framework that involves examining one’s perceived capability, opportunity, and motivation to engage in a behaviour, such as PA. To date, no studies have examined PA prescribing behaviour using the COM-B model in an established community-based program. Thus, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationships between perceived Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation to prescribe PA among HCPs involved in RxTGA. Twenty-nine multi-disciplinary HCPs (Mage = 37.34; 75.9% female) completed a demographic questionnaire (e.g., age, years in profession, patients per week) and a validated 17-item-COM-B-survey to assess PA prescribing behaviour. Significant moderate correlations were found between Capability and Motivation (rs(29) = .501, p = .006), and Capability and Opportunity (rs(29) = .692, p < .001), in addition to a significant large correlation between Motivation and Opportunity (rs(29) = .727, p < .001). Results indicate that bidirectional relationships exist between a HCPs’ perceived capability to prescribe PA, motivation to prescribe, and opportunities to prescribe. Taken together, addressing these constructs appears to be important when designing and implementing PA prescription programs, like RxTGA, to optimize participant engagement. In doing so, positive benefits at the individual and societal level may emerge.