1. Barriers and facilitators impacting the experiences of adults participating in an internet-facilitated pedometer intervention.
- Author
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McCormack, Gavin R., McFadden, Kimberley, McHugh, Tara-Leigh F., Spence, John C., and Mummery, Kerry
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COMMITMENT (Psychology) , *GOAL (Psychology) , *HEALTH promotion , *INTERNET , *INTERVIEWING , *RESEARCH methodology , *PERSONAL space , *TELEPHONES , *TRANSPORTATION , *QUALITATIVE research , *PEDOMETERS , *ACTIVITIES of daily living , *SOCIAL context , *SEDENTARY lifestyles , *PHYSICAL activity - Abstract
Internet-facilitated physical activity interventions are becoming more common. A better understanding about the barriers and facilitators experienced by participants is needed to improve the delivery and effectiveness of these types of interventions. Our study explored perceived individual, social, and physical environment characteristics that hinder or facilitate physical activity among previously "inactive" adults during a 12-week internet-facilitated pedometer intervention. Qualitative Study (qualitative description). Twenty-three participants (82.6% women; ages 24–68 years) who registered for the 12-week internet-facilitated pedometer intervention (UWALK) participated in telephone-administered semi-structured interviews. Interview questions explored perceived barriers and facilitators to physical activity during the UWALK intervention. Participants were purposefully sampled to represent various levels of engagement with UWALK. The experiences shared by participants were represented by four themes including: creating (in)activity awareness; commitment to physical activity; incorporating activity for transportation, and; importance of nature and changing scenery. Wearing the pedometer and recording their daily steps made participants more aware about time being sedentary. Moreover, participants developed strategies to help achieve their step goals. Active transportation was frequently mentioned as an effective way of increasing daily steps, and access to nature or beautiful scenery encouraged more physical activity. Perceived individual and environmental factors contribute to participants' ability to engage in UWALK and physical activity. Providing participants enrolled in internet-facilitated pedometer interventions with strategies for overcoming barriers, instructions for exploring their local environments, and approaches for incorporating active transportation into daily routines, may improve adherence and, ultimately, increase physical activity. • Wearing pedometers increased awareness of participant's current physical activity. • Tracking pedometer steps motivated UWALK participants to be physically active. • Individual and environmental factors influenced engagement in UWALK. • Destinations, nature, and pathways supported physical activity during UWALK. • Garbage, the homeless, and off-leash dogs hindered physical activity during UWALK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2019
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