Physical Activity Vital Sign and Exercise Referral Schemes: Experience from Abroad and China

In order to provide references for the action strategy and implementation path of the integration of physical activity and health care system in China, the physical activity vital sign and exercise referral schemes which act as two practical operation systems in the integration of physical activity and health care system abroad are analyzed in general, and the specific application of these two systems in the "Exercise Is Medicine" solution is discussed. By incorporating physical activity into vital signs and confirming simple and effective assessment tools, making physical activity assessment a standard in health care and clinical diagnosis and treatment, the goal of "integrating physical activity into medicine" can be achieved. Furthermore, to enable exercise prescriptions/counselling to be implemented, health care providers/physicians refer people with exercise needs to qualified community physical exercise resources, the task of "connecting medicine to physical activity" can be achieved. Through these two key links, a complete closed loop of the integration of physical activity and primary health care will be formed from start to implementation. It is suggested that the complete implementation route of the integration of physical activity and primary health care should be designed and formulated based on the clear idea of the great role of physical activity in health promotion. The operation and resource should be focused on in the two key links of physical activity assessment and exercise referral system; the coverage of physical activity health promotion be expanded in primary health care in China .