Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2013 May;9(3):301-12.
doi: 10.2217/whe.13.20.

Developing an intervention to address physical activity barriers for African-American women in the deep south (USA)

Dori Pekmezi  1 , Bess Marcus, Karen Meneses, Monica L Baskin, Jamy D Ard, Michelle Y Martin, Natasia Adams, Cody Robinson, Wendy Demark-Wahnefried
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Developing an intervention to address physical activity barriers for African-American women in the deep south (USA)

Dori Pekmezi et al. Womens Health (Lond). 2013 May.

Abstract

Aim: To address high rates of inactivity and related chronic diseases among African-American women.

Materials & methods: Eleven focus groups on physical activity barriers for African-American women in the deep south (USA) were conducted (n = 56). Feedback guided an intervention development process. The resulting Home-Based Individually Tailored Physical Activity Print intervention was vetted with the target population in a 1-month, single arm, pre-post test demonstration trial (n = 10).

Results: Retention was high (90%). Intent-to-treat analyses indicated increases in motivational readiness for physical activity (70% of sample) and physical activity (7-day Physical Activity Recall) from baseline (mean: 89.5 min/week, standard deviation: 61.17) to 1 month (mean: 155 min/week, standard deviation: 100.86). Small improvements in fitness (6-Min Walk Test), weight and psychosocial process measures were also found.

Conclusion: Preliminary findings show promise and call for future randomized controlled trials with larger samples to determine efficacy. Such low-cost, high-reach approaches to promoting physical activity have great potential for addressing health disparities and benefiting public health.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. US Department of Health and Human Services. 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Washington, DC, USA: US Department of Health and Human Services; 2008.
    1. Pekmezi DW, Williams DM, Dunsiger S, et al. Feasibility of using computer-tailored and internet-based interventions to promote physical activity in underserved populations. Telemed. J. E Health. 2010;16(4):498–503. - PMC - PubMed

    1. Pekmezi D, Jennings EG. Interventions to promote physical activity among African Americans. Am. J. Lifestyle Med. 2009;3:173–184. ••Reviews past physical activity intervention research conducted among African–American women.

    1. Banks-Wallace J, Conn V. Interventions to promote physical activity among African American women. Public Health Nurs. 2002;19(5):321–335. •• Reviews past physical activity intervention research conducted among African–American women.

    1. Yancey AK, McCarthy WJ, Harrison GG, Wong WK, Siegel JM, Leslie J. Challenges in improving fitness: results of a community-based, randomized, controlled lifestyle change intervention. J. Womens Health (Larchmt) 2006;15(4):412–429. - PubMed

Websites

    1. Cancer facts and figures for African–Americans 2009–2010. www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@nho/documents/document/cffaa20092010p....
    1. United States Department of Commerce. 2010 census population and housing tables. 2012 www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acsbr10-17.pdf.

Publication types