Knowledge and Practices of the Prescription of Physical and Sports Activities (PSA) by Doctors in Ouagadougou: Inventory

Introduction: The prescription of physical and sports activities (PSA) is discussed by doctors in Burkina Faso. Objective: To analyze the medical doctors’ knowledge and practices of the prescription of PSA in Ouagadougou city. Method: A mixed-method exploratory study, data were collected using an online google forms survey of 135 doctors in 3 health districts in Ouagadougou city, and interviews with 23 doctors to February to June 2023. Quantitative data were processed using Epi-Info software, and qualitative data using the content analysis method. Test significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: Based on 48 specialists and 87 general practitioners, the results revealed that 97.04% of participants were aware of the importance of PSA for health, 91.11% said they are used to prescribing PSA to their patients. As for the prescription protocol, only 22.22% claimed they mastered it. A significant relationship emerged between seniority and PSA prescription (p < 0.02). Qualitative analysis reinforced these results in that the vast majority of interviewees claimed that they knew PSAs and used to prescribe them to their patients without any prescription protocol. Discussion/Conclusion: These results reveal that all participants have sufficient information on the importance of PSA for health. However, they do more to raise awareness than to prescribe, because prescription protocols are not applied. It also emerged that seniority was linked to PSA prescription. This could be explained by the fact that PSA as a means of preventing Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) is a concept that emerged with modernity. In the light of these results, information/training strategies on PSA prescription protocols should be developed.