Exploration of Country-specific Barriers and Facilitators for the Implementation of Physical Activity According to the EULAR Physical Activity Recommendations for People With Rheumatic Musculoskeletal Diseases in Four Different European Countries; the COPA Project

The aim of this project is to systematically survey and explore barriers and facilitators for the implementation of physical activity according to the physical activity recommendations of the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology on country specific (e.g., environmental, cultural, organization and system) level. A questionnaire to explore/identify these barriers and facilitators in the survey, will be developed through literature search, interviews with multiple stakeholders (i.e., patients with inflammatory arthritis or osteoarthritis and physical therapists) and experts in the field in four different European countries (i.e., Turkey, Switzerland, the Netherlands and France).

Additionally, in Switzerland only, the Inflammatory Arthritis Facilitators and Barriers to Physical Activity (IFAB) Questionnaire which was developed to determine the factors on personal level, will be translated into the German language. Aim is to evaluate the validity and reliability of the IFAB Questionnaire in the German-speaking population with axial Spondyloarthrits, and to perform a cultural adaptation if necessary at the same time.