title: Environmental, policy, and cultural factors related to physical activity among rural, African American women.
abstract: Sixty-one African American women (ages 20-50 years) from a rural community in Alabama participated in six focus groups. Barriers to and enablers of physical activity were identified and grouped into personal, environmental (social and physical), policy, and cultural themes for qualitative analyses. Personal factors included motivation, perceived health, feeling tired, and lack of time; social environmental factors included support from friends, family, and issues related to child care; physical environmental factors included weather, access to facilities, availability of sidewalks or other places to walk; policy factors included personal safety concerns (loose dogs, traffic, etc.) and inflexible work environments. Some, but not all, women perceived cultural differences as a factor affecting physical activity levels. Differences in socioeconomic levels and time demands among women of different cultures were identified as factors that may influence physical activity. Participants provided suggestions for community-based physical activity interventions using an environmental approach.
authors.affiliation: University of Alabama at Birmingham, 307 LHRB, 701 19th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA. bsanderson@uabmc.edu
authors.forename: Bonnie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sanderson
authors.forename: MaryAnn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Littleton
authors.forename: LeaVonne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pulley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000407:Alabama; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control; D003469:Culture; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012423:Rural Health; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016387:Women's Health; D017132:Workplace