Barriers and facilitators to physical activity in people with hip or knee osteoarthritis: protocol for a systematic review of qualitative evidence.
This protocol aims to describe the objective and methods to be followed in a systematic review of qualitative studies on barriers and facilitators to physical activity (PA) in people with hip or knee osteoarthritis (OA).



MEDLINE, EMBASE, PhychINFO, Web of Science, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, Scopus and grey literature sources will be electronically searched. Hand search of qualitative research-centred journals, reference screening of relevant reviews and inquiries to researchers active in the field will complement the search. Studies will be selected if they apply qualitative or mixed-methods designs to directly explore factors that correspond to engagement in PA/exercise or, the perceptions regarding PA/exercise in people with hip or knee OA. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Qualitative Checklist and the evaluative criteria of credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability will be applied for the study appraisal. 2 independent reviewers will perform the search, study selection and study appraisal. Thematic synthesis will be used for synthesising the findings of the primary studies and the process and product of the synthesis will be checked by a second researcher. ConQual approach will be used for assessing the confidence in the qualitative findings.



This systematic review will inform our understanding of the PA determinants and how to optimise behaviour change in people living with hip or knee OA. The review findings will be reported in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at national or international conferences. The study raises no ethical issues.



CRD42016030024.
School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Archontissa M
AM
Kanavaki
School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Alison
A
Rushton
Department of Rheumatology, Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, Dudley, UK.
Rainer
R
Klocke
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Academic Rheumatology Unit, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Abhishek
A
Abhishek
School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Joan L
JL
Duda
D015444:Exercise; D006801:Humans; D015207:Osteoarthritis, Hip; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012107:Research Design; D000078202:Systematic Reviews as Topic
barriers; facilitators; hip osteoarthritis; knee osteoarthritis; physical activity; systematic review protocol