Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1078860
46 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k m a r c h / a p r i l 2 0 1 9 thought therapists should spend more time conveying such messages. When asked what sort of sources they used to locate and confirm their client/patient health promotion information, the highest proportion indicated professional associations (69 percent), followed by seminars (64 percent), scientific journals (62 percent), health- related websites (60 percent), textbooks (57 percent), and trade publications (42 percent). Fewer respondents indicated news outlets (21 percent), social media (25 percent), and national guidelines (35 percent) as sources for health promotion information, and 22 percent indicated they used other, non-articulated sources. The survey gave participants a list of 22 health promotion topics and asked for indication if they provided messages, referred client/patients to another health- care professional for messages, or provided no message or referral related to each topic in their practices. On average, massage therapists reported including 9–10 of the inquired health promotion messages in their practices, while referring to other health-care professionals for 8–9 topics, and not providing or referring on 2–3 queried topics. In other words, respondents either included or referred health promotion messages or activities to other professionals for most of the queried topics. Self-massage was the health promotion topic receiving the highest proportion of respondents indicating they provided related health messages in their practice (93 percent) followed by stretching (90 percent), body awareness (90 percent), hot/cold therapy (89 percent), and topical therapy usage (86 percent). A high proportion of respondents also indicated offering messages related to breath work (78 percent), water intake (71 percent), stress management (69 percent), mindfulness (65 percent), and healthy lifestyle (57 percent) in their practices. The health promotion topics with the highest proportion of referrals from respondents included mental health (85 percent), nutritional supplementation (74 percent), possible skin cancers (73 percent), other skin health/care (72 percent), smoking cessation (71 percent), healthy eating habits and nutrition (67 percent), and weight management (66 percent). Respondents were less likely to neither provide nor refer on the queried topics, but a handful of topics received relatively high proportions of non-provision or non-referral. Specifically, visualization (25 percent), sexual health (22 percent), weight management (21 percent), and aromatherapy (21 percent) had the highest proportions of respondents to indicate they did not provide health messages on the topic or refer their clients/patients to other health-care professionals. Other health promotion message topics that were offered by participants included those related to sleep and sleep-related issues, pain, and ergonomics. Several barriers were reported by respondents as inhibiting to their inclusion of health promotion messaging or referral, including the lack of guidelines (45 percent); knowledge, competence, and/or other skills (41 percent); massage time (32 percent); community resource knowledge (26 percent); management/administration support (21 percent); and reimbursement (19 percent). Other barriers to health promotion inclusion or referral (24 percent reported lumped together in an "other" category) included client/patient lack of interest, changing evidence, and time. The number of barriers reported by participants ranged as high as 9, and, on average, each participant reported 2.3 barriers to health promotion inclusion or referral. Analysis revealed some interesting associations between participant descriptors and the number of reported barriers. Those with more experience, who believed that health promotion should be a priority in massage therapy practice, and who believed massage therapists should spend more time including health promotion in practice, reported fewer barriers. On the other hand, those with a bachelor's degree or higher reported more barriers compared to those with less education. Self-massage was the health promotion topic receiving the highest proportion of respondents indicating they provided related health messages in their practice (93 percent) followed by stretching (90 percent), body awareness (90 percent), hot/cold therapy (89 percent), and topical therapy usage (86 percent).