Mathews Elezebeth, Lakshmi J K, Ravindran T K Sundari, Pratt Michael, Thankappan K R
Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, India.
Indian Institute of Public Health, Hyderabad, India.
Glob Health Promot. 2016 Dec;23(4):27-36. doi: 10.1177/1757975915573878. Epub 2015 Mar 31.
Despite the known benefits of physical activity, very few people, especially women, are found to engage in regular physical activity. This study explored the perceptions, barriers and facilitators related to physical activity among women in Thiruvananthapuram City, India.
Four focus group discussions were conducted among individuals between 25 and 60 years of age, in a few areas of Thiruvananthapuram City Corporation limits in Kerala, preparatory to the design of a physical activity intervention trial. An open-ended approach was used and emergent findings were analyzed and interpreted.
Women associated physical activity mostly with household activities. The majority of the women considered their activity level adequate, although they engaged in what the researchers concluded were quite low levels of activity. Commonly reported barriers were lack of time, motivation, and interest; stray dogs; narrow roads; and not being used to the culture of walking. Facilitators of activity were seeing others walking, walking in pairs, and pleasant walking routes. Walking was reported as the most feasible physical activity by women.
Physical activity promotion strategies among women should address the prevailing cultural norms in the community, and involve social norming and overcoming cultural barriers. They should also target the modifiable determinants of physical activity, such as improving self-efficacy, improving knowledge on the adequacy of physical activity and its recommendations, facilitating goal-setting, and enhancing social support through peer support and group-based activities.
尽管体育活动有诸多已知益处，但发现很少有人，尤其是女性，会定期进行体育活动。本研究探讨了印度特里凡得琅市女性对体育活动的认知、障碍和促进因素。
在喀拉拉邦特里凡得琅市市政辖区的几个区域，对25至60岁的人群进行了四次焦点小组讨论，为设计一项体育活动干预试验做准备。采用开放式方法，并对新出现的结果进行分析和解读。
女性大多将体育活动与家务活动联系起来。大多数女性认为自己的活动水平足够，尽管她们从事的活动量在研究人员看来相当低。常见的障碍包括缺乏时间、动力和兴趣；流浪狗；道路狭窄；以及不习惯步行文化。活动的促进因素包括看到其他人步行、结伴步行和宜人的步行路线。女性报告称步行是最可行的体育活动。
针对女性的体育活动促进策略应考虑社区中普遍存在的文化规范，包括社会规范和克服文化障碍。这些策略还应针对体育活动的可改变决定因素，如提高自我效能、增进对体育活动充足性及其建议的了解、促进目标设定，以及通过同伴支持和团体活动增强社会支持。
