[Evaluation of the Academia da Cidade program to promote physical activity in Recife, Pernambuco State, Brazil: perceptions of users and non-users].
The aim of this study was to describe the profile of users and non-users of the Academia da Cidade Program to promote physical activity in Recife, Pernambuco State, Brazil. Four of the program's 19 units were sampled. Users (n=277) and non-users (n=277) were matched for gender, age (+/-5 years), and place of residence. Among non-users, 22% had never heard of the program. Among those who knew of the program, 54.3% learned about it by actually having seen one of the units. Among users, the main reason for participating in the program was to improve their health; mean participation time was 27.5 months (SD = 23.1); and 72.8% reported high satisfaction. The proportion of individuals with fair or poor self-rated health was significantly higher among non-users (45.4%) than users (28.5%). Users of the program appeared to be satisfied. Strategies to further publicize the program should be prioritized to make it known to a larger proportion of the city's population.
Hallal
Pedro C
PC
Departamento de Ginástica e Saúde, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Brasil. prchallal@terra.com.br
Tenório
Maria Cecília Marinho
MC
Tassitano
Rafael Miranda
RM
Reis
Rodrigo Siqueira
RS
Carvalho
Yara Maria
YM
Cruz
Danielle Keylla Alencar
DK
Damascena
Wilson
W
Malta
Deborah Carvalho
DC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D003153:Community Health Services; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015397:Program Evaluation; D055815:Young Adult