Initial mass media coverage of the 2nd edition of the physical activity guidelines for Americans

Awareness and Knowledge of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd Edition

BACKGROUND

Assessing awareness and knowledge of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition (Guidelines), released in 2018, is important for monitoring factors that contribute to increasing physical activity.

METHODS

We estimated prevalence of awareness and knowledge of the adult aerobic guideline (≥150 min/wk of moderate-intensity equivalent aerobic physical activity preferably spread out over a week) among adults (n = 3471) and of the youth aerobic guideline (≥60 min/d of mostly moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity) among a subset of parents (n = 744) from a nationwide sample of US adults in the 2019 FallStyles survey. We estimated odds ratios using logistic regression, adjusting for demographic and other characteristics.

RESULTS

Approximately 1 in 10 US adults and parents reported being aware of the Guidelines. Only 3% of adults knew the correct adult aerobic guideline. The most common responses were "don't know/not sure" (44%) and "30 minutes a day, 5 or more days a week" (28%). Among parents, 15% knew the youth aerobic guideline. Awareness and knowledge tended to be lower with lower education and income.

CONCLUSIONS

Limited awareness and knowledge of the Guidelines suggest communication about the Guidelines could be strengthened, especially among adults with low income or education.

Internet Search Results for Older Adult Physical Activity Guidelines: Scoping Review

Background

Older adults seek health-related information through casual internet searches. Yet, researchers focus on peer-reviewed journals and conference presentations as primary dissemination strategies. Representatives of mass media are alerted (passive diffusion) of new studies or recommendations, but the veracity of the information shared is not often analyzed, and when it is, the analysis is often not comprehensive. However, most older adults do not have access to peer-reviewed journal articles or paid subscription services for more reputable media outlets.

Objective

We aimed to determine what information was readily available (ie, open access) to older adults who may casually search the internet for physical activity recommendations.

Methods

We performed a 6-part scoping review to determine the research question and available evidence, and extract data within open-access top hits using popular online search engines. Results were categorized by a dissemination model that has categories of sources, channels, audience, and messages.

Results

After the iterative search process, 92 unique articles were included and coded. Only 5 (5%) cited physical activity guidelines, and most were coded as promoting healthy aging (82/92, 89%) and positive framing (84/92, 91%). Most articles were posed as educational, but the authors’ credentials were rarely reported (ie, 22% of the time). Muscle strengthening and balance components of the physical activity guidelines for older adults were rarely reported (72/92, 78% and 80/92, 87%, respectively) or inaccurately reported (3/92, 3% and 3/92, 3%, respectively).

Conclusions

Inconsistent messages lead to mistrust of science and public health representatives. This work highlights the lack of evidence within existing open-access resources. Further efforts are needed to ensure evidence-based public health messages are in the sources and channels older adults are using to inform their knowledge and behaviors.

How to disseminate national recommendations for physical activity: a qualitative analysis of critical change agents in Germany

Background

Physical activity recommendations are reached by only a small part of the population. A common problem is that research findings on public health-related topics such as physical activity promotion are oftentimes not translated into practice. The involvement of relevant stakeholders, such as change agents (role models, decision-makers, and/or knowledge mediators), is a common strategy to implement physical activity recommendations in specific settings, as they have the necessary knowledge of contextual factors. However, dissemination and implementation of physical activity recommendations are often prevented by focusing exclusively on the health sector and by underestimating the individual perceptions and needs of change agents. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to address the problem of how physical activity recommendations can be translated into practice through comprehensive consideration of the situation and context of change agents from various sectors of society at different administrative levels. This allows for deriving recommendations for action on how a national dissemination strategy of physical activity recommendations should be designed.

Methods

Qualitative expert interviews were conducted with change agents from different sectors of society and administrative levels in Germany (N = 21). Case selection took place via a sampling plan. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed by two trained researchers using qualitative content analysis.

Results

The change agents’ perceived relevance of physical activity and physical activity promotion and their knowledge of physical activity recommendations varied across different sectors. Nine themes were identified covering the change agents’ needs for the implementation of physical activity recommendations: strengthening of political will and cooperation, availability of public space for physical activity, change in awareness and health education, professional qualification, financial incentives, development of physical activity-promoting programmes and structures, provision of resources, bridging the theory–practice gap, and knowledge of physical activity recommendations.

Conclusions

This exploratory study contributes to the development of an evidence-based dissemination strategy of physical activity recommendations involving change agents from various sectors. Cross-sectoral needs and obstacles were identified indicating gaps that have to be addressed. Future research should choose practice-oriented approaches to develop dissemination strategies that are adapted to the needs of local contexts.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12961-021-00729-7.