Relationships between exercise self-definitions and exercise participation among urban women in primary care.
Exercising prevents the development of coronary artery disease and reduces the incidence of cardiovascular risk factors; however, the mechanisms that underlie participation in an exercise program are not well understood. On the basis of theories of the self, we hypothesized that exercise self-definitions would be significantly related to exercise participation and that such definitions would increase over time. The study sample consisted of 192 middle-aged to older women who were leading a mostly sedentary life and the majority had at least one cardiovascular risk factor. Exercise participation was defined as the number of exercise sessions completed at 8 and 24 weeks. We found an interesting pattern of significant relationships between exercise definitions and exercise participation. Six-month scores were significantly higher than baseline scores, suggesting that exercise self-definitions strengthened over time. If this result is found to be supported in future studies, nurses may want to consider assessing self-definitions when helping patients initiate and maintain an exercise program.
Hays
Laura M
LM
Indiana University School of Nursing, Indianapolis, IN, USA. lmhays@indiana.edu
Damush
Teresa M
TM
Clark
Daniel O
DO
D001741:Black or African American / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006766:Hospitals, County; D006786:Hospitals, Urban; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008875:Middle Aged; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012307:Risk Factors; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014505:Urban Population; D014930:Women / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*