title: The Green Prescription and older adults: what do general practitioners see as barriers?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Limited research exists that has examined the barriers that older adults (those aged 65 years and older) can encounter when given a Green Prescription (GRx). This study aimed to identify what general practitioners (GPs) perceived their older-aged patients' barriers were with regard to carrying out a GRx. This study also identified the strategies that GPs used to assist their older-aged patients in overcoming barriers to physical activity engagement.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifteen GPs from the Auckland region of New Zealand were interviewed individually. An inductive thematic approach was used to analyse data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  GPs identified chronic health conditions, fear of injury, transportation constraints, set routines and lack of confidence as being barriers that some of their older-aged patients have encountered when considering whether to become more physically active and, also, when engaging in actual physical activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Physical activity interventions, such as the GRx programme, can have an important role in helping confer health-related gain for low-active older adults. To ensure that such interventions are successful on a long-term basis, practitioners need to be aware of the barriers that their older-aged patients can encounter when given a prescription for physical activity.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. asmita.patel@aut.ac.nz
authors.forename: Asmita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kolt
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Keogh
authors.forename: Grant
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schofield
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015444:Exercise; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D058005:General Practitioners / Q000523:psychology*; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care; D036301:Qualitative Research; D020377:Self Efficacy; D014186:Transportation