Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Hawler Medical University, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Hawler Medical University, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
BMC Womens Health. 2023 Oct 17;23(1):543. doi: 10.1186/s12905-023-02696-3.
Limited research has investigated the barriers to physical exercise among women in Iraqi Kurdistan Region and other similar Muslim and Middle Eastern societies. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of perceived barriers to physical exercise among women and examine the associations of these barriers with the participants' sociodemographic characteristics.
A cross-sectional study was carried out in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan Region, from December 2022 to January 2023. A self-administered online survey was designed using Google Forms. A convenience sample of 500 women and girls aged 18-65 years was selected for the study. A questionnaire was designed for data collection, including a list of 21 potential barriers to physical exercise developed based on literature review and experts' opinions. The barriers were divided into three categories: interpersonal (8 barriers), social environment (8 barriers), and built environment factors (5 barriers). The participants were asked to indicate for each potential barrier whether it was "not really a barrier, somewhat a barrier, or a very important barrier." The statistical package for social sciences was used to estimate the prevalence of different barriers and assess their association with sociodemographic characteristics using the Chi-square test.
The prevalence of physical inactivity among the study participants was 68.2%. The most prevalent interpersonal barriers to physical exercise included lack of time (47.4%), followed by fatigue (24%), and cost (22.4%). Regarding social environment factors, work (30.6%), harassment outside (22.2%), not having a friend or family member accompanying (19%), and not being allowed by family (15.4%) were the most prevalent barriers to physical exercise. Lack of footpaths, cycle lanes, or parks (34.4%), limited accessibility of gyms or other exercise facilities (25.8%), and environmental pollution (21%) were the most prevalent built environment factors as barriers to physical exercise.
Women in Iraqi Kurdistan Region experience many barriers to physical exercise. Women require family and social support and awareness about exercise benefits to overcome interpersonal and social environment barriers to physical exercise. Built environment factors are very important barriers and can be reduced by taking appropriate action and adopting necessary policies to provide the required infrastructure and facilities for physical exercise.
有限的研究调查了伊拉克库尔德地区和其他类似的穆斯林和中东社会中女性进行体育锻炼的障碍。本研究旨在确定女性感知到的体育锻炼障碍的流行程度，并研究这些障碍与参与者社会人口特征的关联。
2022 年 12 月至 2023 年 1 月，在伊拉克库尔德地区埃尔比勒进行了一项横断面研究。使用 Google 表单设计了一份在线自我管理问卷。研究选择了 500 名年龄在 18-65 岁的女性和女孩作为便利样本。问卷用于收集数据，其中包括根据文献综述和专家意见制定的 21 项潜在体育锻炼障碍清单。障碍分为三类：人际（8 个障碍）、社会环境（8 个障碍）和建筑环境因素（5 个障碍）。要求参与者针对每个潜在障碍指出它是否是“不是真的障碍、有点障碍还是非常重要的障碍”。使用社会科学统计软件包来估计不同障碍的流行程度，并使用卡方检验评估其与社会人口特征的关联。
研究参与者中身体活动不足的比例为 68.2%。体育锻炼最常见的人际障碍包括缺乏时间（47.4%）、疲劳（24%）和费用（22.4%）。在社会环境因素方面，工作（30.6%）、户外骚扰（22.2%）、没有朋友或家庭成员陪伴（19%）和家人不允许（15.4%）是体育锻炼的最常见障碍。缺乏人行道、自行车道或公园（34.4%）、健身房或其他锻炼设施的可达性有限（25.8%）和环境污染（21%）是体育锻炼的最常见建筑环境因素障碍。
伊拉克库尔德地区的女性面临许多体育锻炼障碍。女性需要家庭和社会支持以及对运动益处的认识，以克服体育锻炼的人际和社会环境障碍。建筑环境因素是非常重要的障碍，可以通过采取适当的行动和采取必要的政策来减少，以提供体育锻炼所需的基础设施和设施。
