Kinesiologists could be part of solution for overwhelmed health-care system

As New Brunswick hospitals continue to struggle to find beds for patients, a group of professionals in the province say they could be playing a much larger role in preventing illness and improving mobility. 

Natalie Arsenault graduated with a degree in science and kinesiology from the University of New Brunswick in 2020 and was only able to find a few jobs in her field, and only if she moved to Ontario or Nova Scotia.

“I did realize how difficult it was going to be to find a job in kinesiology,” she said of her search for work in New Brunswick. “It’s not really recognized as a registered profession.”

While physiotherapists work to repair mobility after an injury, kinesiologists improve a person’s physical health for the long-term and prevent injuries through physical activity plans, one-on-one sessions and education.

Arsenault, like about three-quarters of the people she graduated with, went on to become a physiotherapist. However, she argues kinesiologists are well-trained and would be able to contribute to the health-care system if there were more positions available.

“They can play a huge role in actually impacting people’s lives throughout their lifespan and not just for one set condition or one set injury,” she said.

More kinesiologists = fewer hospital visits

Between UNB and the University of Moncton, approximately 140 students graduate every year with kinesiology degrees.

Some hospitals operated by the Vitalité Health Network, as well as private health clinics and gyms, employ a limited number of kinesiologists, who work alongside physiotherapists and other health-care providers. 

Still, one professor at the University of Moncton said that’s not enough to turn the province’s health-care system into a preventative one, saving time, money and lives.

Grant Handrigan said the province’s aging population and increasing number of chronic diseases call for a different approach to health care.

“Physical inactivity is one of the most important factors that are driving health-care costs,” said Handrigan, who also sits on the board of directors for both the Canadian and New Brunswick kinesiology associations. 

Nearly one in four New Brunswickers report being diagnosed or treated for at least three chronic diseases, according to a 2023 New Brunswick Health Council survey.

“Being physically active prevents dementia, it prevents certain types of cardiovascular diseases, certain types of cancer, osteoporosis,” he said.

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More than 100 students graduate with a degree in kinesiology every year in the province and they could be taking a bigger role in health care.

One of the most common — and preventable — causes of debilitating injuries that Handrigan sees among older generations is falling.

“A lot of people in hospitals right now are there because they’ve fallen,” he said about patients waiting to be transferred into nursing homes. 

“And if there’s no bed available for this person, they stay there and they take up resources the entire time they’re there waiting for the transition.

“If we could have kinesiologists in the community developing opportunities for people to become more active, I think it would, down the road, reduce usage in the hospitals.”

Handrigan said some hospitals are beginning to include kinesiologists in their care and it’s making a difference.

Early success in Vitalité hospitals

Monique Dufour-Doiron, regional manager of Vitalité Health Network’s Healthy Heart program, said the network has come to realize the value of kinesiologists.

“How many times have you heard a patient say, ‘My doctor told me to start exercising.’ But do they know what to do?” she said. “They need to have someone to help them.”

Up until 2021, Vitalité employed six kinesiologists across the province, she said. 

Now, Dufour-Doiron said 28 of them are working in the rehabilitation programs she manages across the network’s nine hospitals, and she’s trying to recruit more.

While no one from Horizon Health Network was made available for an interview, spokesperson Kris McDavid confirmed in an e-mailed statement that Horizon does not have any designated kinesiology roles.

At Vitalité, Dufoir-Doiron said kinesiologists work with hospital patients once or twice a day, with the goal of increasing their mobility and autonomy so they can leave the hospital more quickly.

“It’s fabulous,” Dufour-Doiron said. “Since the implementation, [we’ve seen] a decrease of one day of the length of stay.”

“The staff is telling us that when the patients are moved by the kinesiologists, they are less demanding during the day,” she said. “The patients are calmer and more satisfied at hospitals.”

Some patients who were on waiting lists for nursing home care have increased their mobility enough to be lowered from Level-3 care to Level 2, she said. In many cases, that meant they were admitted to a care home more quickly.

Dufour-Doiron says her goal is to dispel the belief among kinesiology graduates that hospitals can’t be a viable option for careers.

Kinesiology needs to be regulated in New Brunswick for the profession to reach its full potential, she said.

“We don’t have a College of Kinesiology in New Brunswick, so the population doesn’t see the kinesiologists as being professional.”

Other health-care professionals, such as doctors and physiotherapists, must be registered under a regulatory body in order to practise. 

Dufour-Doiron said this is what gives practitioners legitimacy in the eyes of the public.

In Canada, Ontario is the only province that regulates kinesiologists. 

Regulation could also help boost the pay of kinesiologists, which would encourage more to work in the field, Dufour-Doiron said.

“I did interviews with some, and they don’t come because of the salary,” she said of kinesiology grads. “Their wage is better doing something else that they don’t like, compared to the job of kinesiology.”

Arsenault said until kinesiology services are regulated, they’ll also remain excluded from most health insurance coverage.

“It does need to be covered by your private health insurance or else people aren’t going to seek-out those types of benefits.”

Handrigan says regulation can only happen if kinesiologists in New Brunswick advocate for broader change themselves.

“The health-care system wasn’t designed for that kind of preventative approach,” he said. “It’s more of a reactive … it’s a struggle for it to change.”