Key Strategies for Physical Activity Interventions Among Older Women: Process Evaluation of a Clinical Trial.

PURPOSE

To describe strategies salient to physical activity (PA) initiation and maintenance among older women who participated in a clinical trial that tested a PA intervention.

DESIGN

A descriptive phenomenological, qualitative design for a process evaluation of a successful clinical trial.

SETTING

Senior primary care clinics associated with a large medical center in a southern state.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 20 older women at least 60 years without advanced frailty.

METHOD

Purposive sampling using maximum variation technique was used to select participants. A semi-structured interview guide facilitated individual, in-depth interviews lasting 45 to 90 minutes. Narratives were analyzed using content analysis with constant comparison technique to summarize the data.

RESULTS

Eight African American and 12 white older women with a mean age of 68 from control and intervention arms participated. Five central themes described salient strategies to promote and maintain PA: sensed benefits, motivation, and self-efficacy were central to success, while a reduction in barriers was essential before maintaining PA. The last theme, a life-changing awareness indicated that PA had become a shared value. An explanatory model describing interrelationships is presented.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests key strategies to include in PA interventions with older women. An unexpected finding was that PA became a shared value, an action promoted by the Culture of Health initiative to improve population health and well-being.