Shava Beatrice K, Vhudzijena Blessed, Kupenga-Maposa Tariro, Musingwini Thelma, Samudzi Tanaka, Muchemwa Sidney, Chibanda Dixon, Dambi Jermaine M
Rehabilitation Sciences Unit-Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Mental Health Unit-Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Front Sports Act Living. 2024 Aug 7;6:1205914. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1205914. eCollection 2024.
Despite the well-documented benefits of regular physical activity (PA), many university students are physically inactive. Personal, socio-economic, and environmental factors predict PA engagement behaviours in university students. There is a need to understand context-specific perceived barriers and benefits to exercise engagement and physical activity levels amongst university students from low-income settings. This study primarily evaluated the barriers and facilitators to PA engagement in Zimbabwean undergraduate students. We also assessed the correlates of perceived barriers and benefits to PA engagement, risk of common mental disorders (CMDs) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).
We used a cross-sectional study to recruit 465 university undergraduate students. The Exercise Benefits and Barriers Scale, International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), Shona Symptoms Questionnaire (SSQ-8) and EuroQol 5 Dimension (EQ5D-5l) were used to measure barriers and facilitators, physical activity level, risk of depression and anxiety and HRQoL, respectively. Data were analysed through descriptive statistics and logistic regression.
Most participants were male (58.5%) with a mean age of 21.7 (SD 1.6) years. Majority of the participants were first year students (37.2%), consumed alcohol (66.5%), did not smoke (88.2%) and had a normal BMI (64.7%). The prevalence of low PA levels was 17.4%, with 33.5% of students at risk of CMDs. The most perceived benefits were in the physical performance (e.g., exercise improves my level of physical fitness) and life enhancement (e.g., exercise improves my self-concept) domains, while the most perceived barriers were lack of exercise infrastructure (e.g., exercise facilities do not have convenient schedules) and physical exertion (e.g., exercise tires me). Food insecurity (AOR 2.51: 95% CI 1.62-3.88) and the risk of CMDs (AOR 0.49: 95% CI 0.32-0.76) were associated with increased odds of experiencing barriers to exercise. Not using substances (AOR = 2.14: 95% CI 1.11-4.14) and a higher self-rated HRQoL (AOR 24.34: 95% CI 1.77-335.13) were associated with increased odds of a high perception of exercise benefits. Improving access to community and on-campus exercise facilities and campus-wide health promotional interventions is necessary to enhance PA amongst university students.
尽管有充分证据表明定期进行体育活动（PA）有益，但许多大学生缺乏体育锻炼。个人、社会经济和环境因素可预测大学生参与体育活动的行为。有必要了解低收入环境下大学生在特定背景下对锻炼参与和体育活动水平的感知障碍和益处。本研究主要评估了津巴布韦本科生参与体育活动的障碍和促进因素。我们还评估了参与体育活动的感知障碍和益处、常见精神障碍（CMD）风险以及健康相关生活质量（HRQoL）的相关因素。
我们采用横断面研究招募了465名大学本科生。分别使用锻炼益处和障碍量表、国际体育活动问卷（IPAQ）、绍纳症状问卷（SSQ - 8）和欧洲五维健康量表（EQ5D - 5l）来测量障碍和促进因素、体育活动水平、抑郁和焦虑风险以及HRQoL。通过描述性统计和逻辑回归分析数据。
大多数参与者为男性（58.5%），平均年龄为21.7岁（标准差1.6）。大多数参与者为一年级学生（37.2%），饮酒（66.5%），不吸烟（88.2%），BMI正常（64.7%）。低体育活动水平的患病率为17.4%，33.5%的学生有患CMD的风险。最常被感知到的益处在于身体表现（如锻炼提高了我的身体素质水平）和生活改善（如锻炼改善了我的自我概念）领域，而最常被感知到的障碍是缺乏锻炼基础设施（如锻炼设施的时间安排不方便）和体力消耗（如锻炼让我疲惫）。粮食不安全（调整后比值比[AOR] 2.51：95%置信区间[CI] 1.62 - 3.88）和CMD风险（AOR 0.49：95% CI 0.32 - 0.76）与锻炼障碍几率增加相关。不使用物质（AOR = 2.14：95% CI 1.11 - 4.14）和较高的自我评定HRQoL（AOR 24.34：95% CI 1.77 - 335.13）与对锻炼益处的高感知几率增加相关。改善社区和校内锻炼设施的可及性以及全校范围的健康促进干预措施对于提高大学生的体育活动水平是必要的。
