Exploring the role of healthcare partners in referrals to a community-based exercise program with a healthcare-community partnership designed for people with balance and mobility limitations

To explore how healthcare partners in community-based exercise programs for people with balance and mobility limitations perceive and enact referral in the context of their role. We conducted a descriptive, qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews and reflexive thematic analysis. Twelve healthcare partners from the Together In Movement and Exercise (TIME^TM) program completed interviews. Seven (58%) participants were clinicians and 5 (42%) held non-clinical roles. The most common professional background of participants was physical therapy (<i>n</i> = 9, 75%). Clinicians made direct referrals while non-clinical participants facilitated referral by promoting the program. The main theme was healthcare partners perceive their role in referrals as secondary to their role as educators and trainers. Subthemes were: (1) healthcare partners fulfill educator and trainer roles when conducting formal training of instructors, educating instructors during program visits, and fielding questions; (2) almost all healthcare partners facilitate referral by sharing program information formally and informally; and (3) healthcare partners in clinical practice make direct referrals depending on the clientele. Healthcare partners perceive their roles as educators and trainers as taking precedence over their role in referrals. Findings can be used to guide selection and training of healthcare partners, design of clinical education programs, and research on competencies. Healthcare partners involved in supporting community-based exercise programs with healthcare-community partnerships (CBEP-HCPs) perceive their role in referrals as secondary to their roles in education, training, and overseeing the programCBEP-HCP program implementation may benefit from the inclusion of additional training and resources for supporting healthcare partners in non-clinical and clinical roles for facilitating referralEntry-to-practice healthcare professional education programs, particularly physical therapy programs, should consider including training on boundary-spanning competencies to prepare healthcare professional students for roles like being a healthcare partner Healthcare partners involved in supporting community-based exercise programs with healthcare-community partnerships (CBEP-HCPs) perceive their role in referrals as secondary to their roles in education, training, and overseeing the program CBEP-HCP program implementation may benefit from the inclusion of additional training and resources for supporting healthcare partners in non-clinical and clinical roles for facilitating referral Entry-to-practice healthcare professional education programs, particularly physical therapy programs, should consider including training on boundary-spanning competencies to prepare healthcare professional students for roles like being a healthcare partner