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326047
“Keep it Realistic”: Recommendations for Physical Activity Promotion Messages From Focus Groups with Ethnically-Diverse Women


Sunday, November 1, 2015

Chan Thai, PhD, MPH, Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch, Behavioral Research Program, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD
April Oh, PhD, MPH, Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch, Behavioral Research Program, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD
Jennifer Taber, PhD, Office of the Associate Director, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD
Michelle Segar, PhD, MPH, Sport, Health, and Activity Research and Policy (SHARP) Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Heather Patrick, PhD, Program Development, Live Healthier, Bethesda, MD
BACKGROUND: Less than half of US adults meet the recommended guidelines of at least 150 minutes of exercise each week (CDC, 2014). Mass media campaigns are one strategy used to promote physical activity (PA); however, this messaging may be ineffective if it does not resonate with the target audience. This study explores ethnically diverse women’s responses to current messaging about PA and their input about PA promotion strategies. 

METHODS:  Forty-one women participated in eight focus groups, stratified by race/ethnicity (White, African-American, Latina) and level of self-reported PA (active, inactive), in the Washington, DC metro area in Fall 2014. Participants were shown 4 PA-related advertisements representative of current messaging strategies.  Two researchers conducted a thematic analysis to code the data for emergent themes.

RESULTS: Initial results show that women want to see people who look similar to them (e.g., body shape, age, race/ethnicity), and for PA to be portrayed as ‘the struggle that it is.’ Participants perceived the advertisements as portraying PA as fun and enjoyable but personally perceived PA as work and suggested it should be depicted accordingly.  Participants also perceived PA as necessary only for people who are overweight or out of shape rather than as generally beneficial for health.

CONCLUSIONS: Current messaging strategies did not resonate with ethnically diverse women. Public health practitioners involved in PA promotion among ethnically diverse women might develop messages that resonate with their life circumstances and include models with realistic body shapes and for whom PA may be difficult.

Learning Areas:

Communication and informatics
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe the responses ethnically diverse women have towards current advertising and promotion messages related to physical activity. List themes and ideas that emerged from focus groups regarding ethnically diverse women's beliefs about physical activity. Identify potential messaging strategies for those targeting ethnically diverse women to engage in physical activity.

Keyword(s): Physical Activity, Media

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I developed the research questions and conducted the analyses of the data. I have been working with qualitative data analysis for over 5 years.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 2080.0: Using Health Communication to Address Health Disparities and Reach Vulnerable Populations (organized by HCWG)