Nolan Rachael, Agley Jon, Umstattd Meyer M Renée, Spicer Paul G, Hallam Jeffrey S
Kent State University, College of Public Health 800 Hilltop Drive, Moulton Hall - 2nd floor, Ste. #241 Kent, OH 44242, United States
Institute for Research on Addictive Behavior, School of Public Health, Bloomington, 501 N. Morton St., Suite 110, Bloomington, IN 47404, United States
Rural Remote Health. 2019 Jun;19(2):5200. doi: 10.22605/RRH5200. Epub 2019 Jun 26.
Much of the US adult population does not engage in regular physical activity or meet the recommended guidelines for exercise. Moreover, many rural Americans disproportionately experience lower health status and life expectancy attributed to obesity, poor diet, and lack of physical activity. Evidence supports the role of perceived physical and social-environmental factors as potential influencers of exercise. However, measurement of these influencers, particularly within diverse, rural populations, has been sparse. A substantial number of American Indians live in federally defined rural areas, and many rural American Indians are at elevated risk for being overweight and obese due to physical inactivity. Therefore, this study established the validity and reliability of the Rural Active Living Perceived Environmental Support Scale (RALPESS) within a predominantly rural American Indian sample.
In this cross-sectional pilot study, the 33-item RALPESS was administered to 130 adults, across 19 rural localities within Oklahoma, who were recruited from community events hosted by local partners of the tribal Head Start program. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the hypothesized factor structure of the RALPESS.
Confirmatory factor analysis showed an adequate fit between the hypothesized model and the data. Analyses produced an acceptable χ2 goodness of fit index with two degrees of freedom. The comparative fit index and parsimony goodness of fit index were acceptable. The root mean square error of approximation and its 90% confidence interval were also acceptable. Overall, the RALPESS showed suitable internal consistency for the full measure and its subscales, resulting in Cronbach's alpha between 0.82 and 0.96.
This pilot study produced confirmatory evidence that the RALPESS is likely a valid and reliable tool for use with rural American Indian populations. Continued validation of this scale, particularly in international rural communities, will support further investigation into this important public health issue, and may further efforts towards the development and promotion of effective programming to increase exercise engagement.
美国成年人口中的很大一部分人没有进行定期体育锻炼，也未达到推荐的运动指南标准。此外，许多美国农村居民因肥胖、不良饮食和缺乏体育活动，健康状况较差，预期寿命较短，这种情况尤为严重。有证据表明，感知到的身体和社会环境因素可能会影响人们的锻炼行为。然而，对于这些影响因素的测量，尤其是在多样化的农村人口中，却非常少见。大量美国印第安人居住在联邦定义的农村地区，而且由于缺乏体育活动，许多美国农村印第安人超重和肥胖的风险较高。因此，本研究在以美国印第安人为主的农村样本中，确立了农村积极生活感知环境支持量表（RALPESS）的有效性和可靠性。
在这项横断面试点研究中，对从部落启智计划当地合作伙伴举办的社区活动中招募的130名成年人进行了33项的RALPESS问卷调查，这些成年人来自俄克拉荷马州的19个农村地区。采用验证性因素分析来检验RALPESS的假设因素结构。
验证性因素分析表明，假设模型与数据之间拟合良好。分析得出了一个可接受的卡方拟合优度指数，自由度为2。比较拟合指数和简约拟合优度指数均可接受。近似均方根误差及其90%置信区间也可接受。总体而言，RALPESS在整个量表及其子量表中显示出合适的内部一致性，Cronbach's alpha系数在0.82至0.96之间。
这项试点研究提供了验证性证据，表明RALPESS可能是一种适用于美国农村印第安人群体的有效且可靠的工具。继续对该量表进行验证，尤其是在国际农村社区中，将有助于进一步研究这一重要的公共卫生问题，并可能推动为增加锻炼参与度而制定和推广有效方案的工作。
