Hypertension: brief intervention to increase physical activity
Indicator
The percentage of patients with hypertension aged 16 to 74 years who score 'less than active' on GPPAQ in the preceding 15 months, who also have a record of a brief intervention in the preceding 15 months.
Indicator type
General practice indicator suitable for use in the Quality and Outcomes Framework.
This document does not represent formal NICE guidance. For a full list of NICE indicators, see our menu of indicators.
To find out how to use indicators and how we develop them, see our NICE indicator process guide.
Rationale
Patients with hypertension are at increased risk of premature morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease. This risk can be reduced by treating the hypertension and by making lifestyle changes. A key lifestyle intervention is improving physical activity levels by including activities that raise heart rate and expend calories. GPPAQ is a validated tool for assessment of physical activity levels and provides a simple physical activity index that practitioners can use to decide when to offer brief interventions with the aim to increase physical activity.
Source guidance
Physical activity: brief advice for adults in primary care. NICE guideline PH44 (2013), recommendation 2
Specification
Numerator: The number of patients in the denominator who have a record of a brief intervention for increasing physical activity in the preceding 15 months.
Denominator: The number of patients on the hypertension register aged between 16 and 74 years who scored 'less than active' on the GPPAQ assessment tool in the preceding 15 months.
Calculation: Numerator divided by the denominator, multiplied by 100.
Exclusions: Patients with a hypertension or GPPAQ assessment exception code recorded in the previous 12 months. Patients with a new diagnosis of hypertension (within last 3 months of the year).
Minimum population: The indicator would be appropriate to assess performance at individual general practice level.
ISBN: 978-1-4731-6055-2