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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Leslie Sargent, MS, CHES, School of Health, Physical Education, & Recreation, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 6001 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE 68182-0216, (402) 554-3245, leslie_lancaster@hotmail.com, Manoj Sharma, PhD, School of HPER, University of Nebraska at Omaha & Walden University, 6001 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE 68182-0216, and Richard Stacy, EdD, School of HPER, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 6001 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE 68182-0216.
A large proportion of Americans do not engage in regular physical activity and this problem is more marked in disadvantaged, low-income, women in the African American community. This study aimed to examine the extent social support of family, friends, and self-efficacy for specific leisure time physical activities had on duration of leisure-time physical activity in a community-based sample of African American women in a Midwestern city. A group of 240 volunteers were recruited to complete a 45-item questionnaire at community health centers and churches. The instrument was designed to measure the women°¯s weekly minutes of physical activity, family and friend social support for moderate leisure time physical activity, different types of social support, and self-efficacy for moderate leisure time physical activity. Validity and reliability of the instrument were found to be satisfactory. Results indicated that less than half of the women reported participating in daily physical activity, and the average minutes of daily leisure time physical activity participation ranged from 9 to 14 minutes, which is much less than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations. Social support from friends (p °Ü 0.001) and self-efficacy (p °Ü 0.001) were found to be significant and the most important predictors for physical activity and accounted for 25 percent of the variance in the duration of physical activity. Interventions for this community must build on influencing these constructs. Study participants also recommended that interventions in this community should be conducted for at least one year through a local community center.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: African American, Physical Activity
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.