Professionals’ knowledge, skills and confidence on using the best practices for spinal cord injury physical activity counseling in Canada and the Netherlands

To improve physical activity (PA) participation in people with spinal cord injury (SCI), an international panel co-created theory- and evidence-based best practices for SCI PA counseling. This study aimed to identify and compare Canadian and Dutch counselors’ knowledge, skills, and confidence in using these best practices. An online survey was conducted in Canada and the Netherlands. Respondents were included if they worked or volunteered as exercise/lifestyle counselor, recreation therapist, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, or peer mentor and were planning to provide counseling in the next 12 months. Chi-square tests, t-tests and linear regression analyses were used to compare groups. Canadian (n = 45) and Dutch respondents (n = 41) had different expertise, with the majority of Canadians working as therapeutic recreation therapist and the majority of Dutch respondents working as PA/lifestyle counselor. In both countries, respondents scored relatively high on their knowledge, skills, and confidence in using the best practices on how to have a conversation and what to discuss during a conversation. Dutch respondents scored slightly higher in their confidence for using best practices about building rapport, motivational interviewing, and tailoring the support (p = 0.05). The generally high counseling skills reported by Canadian and Dutch respondents may be due to the history of SCI-specific PA promotion projects conducted in both countries. These survey findings were used to inform the development of evidence-based training modules on SCI PA counseling. This study may inspire cross-country collaboration and exchange to optimize the organization and delivery of PA counseling services for adults with SCI.