Physical Activity Survey
towusu - Thu, 07/05/2012 - 07:03
Project title:
Rehabilitation Research and Training Center: Health and Wellness Consortium
Project Number:
H133B990019
Tool type:
Survey
Tool class:
Nonengineering tool
Disability targeted:
Physical disabilities
Study target:
Adults with physical disabilities (18 years or older).
Study purpose or goal:
To determine physical activity behavioral patterns and which strategies people use to become physically active
Ease of use:
Easy
Time to complete:
20 minutes
Equipment required:
Some people may have used personal assistant. Some large print versions were made available
Development background:
It was created for the project entitled Examination of Theoretical Strategies for Increasing the Physical Activity Behavior of People with Disabilities/Transtheoretical Physical Activity Strategies Study.
Development methodology:
Literature and database review for the development of this survey included Psychlit, Medline, Index Medicus, ERIC, and SportDiscus. The researchers networked with the core of researchers working in the field, especially those at University of Rhode Island and Brown University...Questions and methodology were chosen based on existing tools for specific populations (used in smoking or substance abuse) and modified for positive health behavior. Modifications were made during the testing phase based on input from users.
Outside consultation:
The researchers networked with the core of researchers working in the field, especially those at University of Rhode Island and Brown University
Consumer input:
Consumers are included in the research team at OHSU. Their input was especially utilized to solve discripencies in wording of questions
Limitations:
While there are no limitations to the tool itself, the testing utilized a nonrandom sample. The first two studies were cross sectional
Diversity was not as great as hoped
Findings:
The survey and resulting data highlight the important role physical activity has in maintaining and maximizing function. One can see it across the stages of change where people have more positive health activities
Interpretations:
. People’s behavior can change, changes in a sequence which have been identified.
Implications:
Behavioral strategies derived from TTM such as being moved emotionally, being rewarded, being a role model, developing a healthy self-image, gathering information, getting social support, making a commitment, making substitutions, taking advantage of social mores, and using cues may all facilitate adults with physical disabilities' stage of change for exercise behavior. The survey and resulting data highlight the important role physical activity has in maintaining and maximizing function. One can see it across the stages of change where people have more positive health activities. People’s behavior can change, changes in a sequence which have been identified
Impact of these findings on the field:
Three studies had been completed and submitted for publication at the time of the interview. Researchers utilized a variety of data analysis methods: internal consistency of measures, means standard deviation of statistics, and discriminant function analysis with some follow-ups. The majority of participants (68.9%) used some form of assistive device (e.g., artificial limb, cane, crutches, scooter, wheelchair), were female (62.1%), and Caucasian (91.9%). The mean age of participants was 52.5 years (SD = 13.9). Participants completed and returned standardized questionnaires for each transtheoretical model (TTM) construct, along with a measure of exercise barriers. In univariate analyses, all of the constructs were significantly (p < .001) associated with the stages of change for exercise behavior. The largest portion of variance was derived from the behavioral processes of change (h2 = .40), followed by self-efficacy (h2 = .30), decisional balance (h2 = .24), the cognitive processes of change (h2 = .16), and exercise barriers (h2 = .15). Direct Discriminant Function (multivariate) analysis revealed three discriminant functions which accounted for 76.4% (p < .001), 19.4% p < .001), and 3.8% (p < .01), respectively, of the between-group (stage of change) variability. The overall stage of change classification accuracy was 67.4%. This was the first study to examine stage of change for exercise behavior among adults with physical disabilities on the basis of the full TTM and exercise barriers. Overall, the results are in general agreement with existing evidence among nondisabled populations. This provides further cross-sectional support for the internal validation of TTM, as well as the external validation of TTM and exercise barriers among a unique and understudied population segment. Behavioral strategies derived from TTM such as being moved emotionally, being rewarded, being a role model, developing a healthy self-image, gathering information, getting social support, making a commitment, making substitutions, taking advantage of social mores, and using cues may all facilitate adults with physical disabilities' stage of change for exercise behavior. While there could be some alternative interpretations of the data, the core findings are solid. Simple analyses are not as conservative. Discriminant functional analysis is more conservative. Using a univariate analysis provides more positive findings centering around the four or five most important functions. The data shows that behavioral processes of change are extremely important. Environmental factors (i.e. barriers) are also important.
Peer review status:
In press. It may be available from the project's website. Contact project staff for more information.
Who uses the collected data?:
Research team. The team developed a small intervention study which supports that one can change behavior
Tool contact:
Laura Hammond, Center Coordinator
Email:
hayesl@ohsu.edu
Phone:
503/494-3882
Keywords:
