Joseph Rodney P, Dutton Gareth R, Cherrington Andrea, Fontaine Kevin, Baskin Monica, Casazza Krista, Lorch Danielle, Allison Jeroan J, Durant Nefertiti H
College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, 500 N. 3rd Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, USA.
Division of Preventive Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1717 11th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL, 35205, USA.
BMC Res Notes. 2015 Jun 2;8:209. doi: 10.1186/s13104-015-1159-z.
African American women are one of the least active demographic groups in the US, with only 36% meeting the national physical activity recommendations in comparison to 46% of White women. Physical activity begins to decline in African American women in adolescence and continues to decline into young adulthood. Yet, few interventions have been developed to promote physical activity in African American women during this critical period of life. The purpose of this article was to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of a culturally-relevant Internet-enhanced physical activity pilot intervention for overweight/obese African American college females and to examine psychosocial and behavioral characteristics associated with intervention adherence and completion.
A 6-month single group pre-posttest design was used. Participants (n = 27) accessed a culturally-relevant Social Cognitive Theory-based physical activity promotion website while engaging in a minimum of four moderate-intensity physical activity sessions each week. Acceptability and feasibility of the intervention was assessed by participant retention and a consumer satisfaction survey completed by participants.
Fifty-six percent of participants (n = 15) completed the intervention. Study completers were more physically active at baseline (P = 0.05) and had greater social support for exercise from family members (P = 0.04). Sixty percent of study completers (n = 9) reported the website as "enjoyable" or "very enjoyable" to use and 60% (n = 9) reported increased motivation from participation in the physical activity program. Moreover, 87% (n = 13) reported they would recommend the website to a friend.
Results provide some preliminary support for the acceptability and feasibility of an Internet-enhanced physical activity program for overweight/obese African American women, while highlighting important limitations of the approach. Successful promotion of physical activity in college aged African American women as they emerge into adulthood may result in the development of life-long healthy physical activity patterns which may ultimately reduce physical activity-related health disparities in this high risk underserved population. Future studies with larger samples are needed to further explore the use of Internet-based programs to promote physical activity in this population.
非裔美国女性是美国最不爱运动的人群之一，只有36%的人达到国家体育活动建议标准，相比之下，白人女性这一比例为46%。非裔美国女性的体育活动在青春期就开始减少，并持续到青年期。然而，在这一关键的生命阶段，很少有干预措施来促进非裔美国女性的体育活动。本文旨在评估一项针对超重/肥胖的非裔美国女大学生的、与文化相关的互联网增强型体育活动试点干预措施的可接受性和可行性，并研究与干预依从性和完成情况相关的心理社会和行为特征。
采用单组前后测设计，为期6个月。参与者（n = 27）访问一个基于社会认知理论、与文化相关的体育活动促进网站，同时每周至少参加四次中等强度的体育活动。通过参与者留存率和参与者完成消费者满意度调查来评估干预措施的可接受性和可行性。
56%的参与者（n = 15）完成了干预。完成研究的参与者在基线时身体活动更积极（P = 0.05），并且从家庭成员那里获得了更多的运动社会支持（P = 0.04）。60%的完成研究的参与者（n = 9）表示该网站使用起来“有趣”或“非常有趣”，60%（n = 9）表示参与体育活动计划后动力增强。此外，87%（n = 13）表示会向朋友推荐该网站。
研究结果为一项针对超重/肥胖非裔美国女性的互联网增强型体育活动计划的可接受性和可行性提供了一些初步支持，同时也突出了该方法的重要局限性。在非裔美国女大学生步入成年期时成功促进她们的体育活动，可能会形成终身健康的体育活动模式，这最终可能会减少这一高风险、未得到充分服务人群中与体育活动相关的健康差距。未来需要更大样本量的研究来进一步探索利用基于互联网的项目来促进这一人群的体育活动。
