Environmental characteristics and physical activity in racial/ethnic minority and Euro-American college students

Promoting Small Business Support of Youth Physical Activity in Low-Income, Minority Neighborhoods: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background

An unacceptably high percentage of our nation’s low-income, minority youth (age<18 years) are not regularly physically active. One reason for this could be their lack of access to quality youth physical activity opportunities (YPAOs). Our previous research found that small businesses (<500 employees), which represent over 99.64% (27.9/28.0 million businesses in United States) of all employers, are powerful resources for creating and improving YPAOs. In accordance with the socioecological model and established philanthropic principles, we developed an alpha version of an intervention (alpha-i) for increasing small businesses’ involvement with YPAOs.

Objective

The aims of this proposed study are to (1) create a beta version (beta-i) of the intervention and (2) conduct a pilot study of its impact on small business support for YPAOs and YPAO utilization by the youth in low-income, minority neighborhoods.

Methods

The alpha-i will be refined using information from focus groups and surveys conducted with small business owners and managers, YPAO providers, and parents and guardians of the youths from low-income, predominantly minority neighborhoods. A cluster randomized controlled trial will then be conducted for 1 year to examine the effects of the refined intervention (beta-i) on small business support for YPAOs in 10 low-income, minority neighborhoods. The control group of neighborhoods (n=10) will be provided with a standard practice intervention. The primary outcome for aim 2 will be the percentage of small businesses not supporting YPAOs at baseline that subsequently provide support for YPAOs at follow-up. We also will consider the US dollar equivalent of all types of support (monetary, goods/services, and time) donated for YPAOs by small businesses. In addition, we will examine the impact of the increased small business support for YPAOs on YPAO utilization by the youth.

Results

As of May 1, 2019, all YPAOs and small businesses in the study neighborhoods have been identified, and surveys have begun with these groups. In addition, 9 focus groups were completed, and the data have been transcribed. We anticipate that manuscripts regarding these aspects of the study will be submitted in fall 2019.

Conclusions

The proposed study is significant because it will provide evidence that an easily replicated approach can be used to increase small business support for YPAOs and that this support results in greater use of the YPAOs by youth. A logical next step will be to determine if YPAO changes resulting from increased small business support positively influence youth physical activity levels.

ClinicalTrial

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03936582; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03936582.

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/13141

A self-determination theory and motivational interviewing intervention to decrease racial/ethnic disparities in physical activity: rationale and design

BACKGROUND

Although the mental and physical benefits of physical activity are well-established, there is a racial/ethnic disparity in activity such that minorities are much less likely to engage in physical activity than are White individuals. Research suggests that a lack of motivation may be an important barrier to physical activity for racial/ethnic minorities. Therefore, interventions that increase participants' motivation may be especially useful in promoting physical activity within these groups. Physical activity interventions that utilized the clinical technique of motivational interviewing (MI) in conjunction with the theoretical background of self-determination theory (SDT) have been effective in increasing White individuals' physical activity. Nevertheless, it remains unclear the extent to which these results apply to minority populations.

METHODS/DESIGN

The current study involves conducting a 12-week physical activity intervention based on SDT and MI to promote physical activity in a racially/ethnically-diverse sample. It is hypothesized that this intervention will successfully increase physical activity in participants. Specifically, it is expected that minorities will experience a greater relative increase in physical activity than Whites within the intervention group because minorities are expected to have lower baseline levels of activity.

DISCUSSION

Results from this study will give us a greater understanding of the generalizability of SDT interventions designed to improve motivation for physical activity and level of physical activity.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Clinical Trials Gov. Identifier NCT02250950 Registered 24 September 2014.

A systematic literature review of sport and physical activity participation in culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) migrant populations

Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) migrants face significant health risks as they adapt to new cultures. These risks are exacerbated by their limited participation in preventative behaviours such as sports and physical activity. The review aimed to identify studies that examined the correlates of sport and physical activity participation in migrants. The systematic review identified 72 papers, including 6 interventions, 18 qualitative and 48 quantitative studies. The 44 identified correlates highlight the complexities involved in working with migrants. The correlates were grouped in four themes using the social ecological model; acculturation, demographic, psychosocial and environmental/organisational. The social ecological model identified general correlates such as social support and safety. However, there were unique correlates relating to individuals who are facing cultural changes such as acculturation and language. Overall, there is a lack of contextualisation of CALD migrants' sport and physical activity experiences because many studies fail to consider acculturation comprehensively.

Does race or sex moderate the perceived built environment/physical activity relationship in college students?

The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between the perceived built environment and physical activity (PA) among college students, and to determine whether race and/or sex moderate this relationship. Participants were 785 college students (435 students in Study 1 and 350 in Study 2). Students completed questionnaires assessing characteristics of their neighborhood, and were followed up 1 (Study 1) or 2 (Study 2) weeks later to measure PA levels. Seeing others in one's neighbourhood being active was found to be significantly related (p<.01) to higher levels of PA for students in both studies. In Study 2, race was found to moderate the relationship between having many places within walking distance and PA, affecting African Americans more strongly than Caucasians. Sex was not found to moderate the perceived built environment/PA relationship. It appears that certain aspects of the perceived built environment may have an effect on the level of PA in college students, with race moderating this relationship.