title: Community Lenses Revealing the Role of Sociocultural Environment on Physical Activity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify perceptions of how sociocultural environment enabled and hindered physical activity (PA) participation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Community-based participatory research.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two semirural and two urban communities located in Alberta, Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-five people (74.3% females, 71.4% aged 25-64 years) across the four communities.
  
  
  METHODS
  PhotoVoice activities occurred over 3 months during the spring of 2009. Participants were asked to document perceived environmental attributes that might foster or inhibit PA in their community. Photographs and narratives were shared in one-on-one interviews. Line-by-line coding of the transcripts was independently conducted by two researchers using an inductive approach. Codes were arranged into themes and subthemes, which were then organized into the Analysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity (ANGELO) framework.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six main themes (accompanied by subthemes) emerged: sociocultural aesthetics, safety, social involvement, PA motivation, cultural ideas of recreation, and car culture. Representative quotes and photographs illustrate enablers and obstacles identified by participants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This PhotoVoice study revealed how aspects of participants' sociocultural environments shaped their decisions to be physically active. Providing more PA resources is only one step in the promotion of supportive environments. Strategies should also account for the beautification and maintenance of communities, increasing feelings of safety, enhancement of social support among community members, popularization of PA, and mitigating car culture, among others.
authors.forename: Ana Paula
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Belon
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Nieuwendyk
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vallianatos
authors.forename: Candace I J
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Nykiforuk
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000416:Alberta; D001294:Attitude to Health; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research; D004777:Environment; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D009938:Organizations / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Community-Based Participatory Research; Health Behavior; Health Promotion; Health focus: physical activity; Outcome measure: environmental characteristics; Physical Activity; Prevention Research. Manuscript format: research; Research purpose: descriptive; Setting: local community; Social Environment; Strategy: behavior change; Study design: qualitative; adults; built and social environment; culture change; health promoting community design; Target population age: youth; policy; seniors; Target population circumstances: geographic location