title: Rationale, design, and baseline findings from HIPP: A randomized controlled trial testing a home-based, individually-tailored physical activity print intervention for African American women in the Deep South.
abstract: African American women report high rates of physical inactivity and related health disparities. In our previous formative research, we conducted a series of qualitative assessments to examine physical activity barriers and intervention preferences among African American women in the Deep South. These data were used to inform a 12-month Home-based, Individually-tailored Physical activity Print (HIPP) intervention, which is currently being evaluated against a wellness contact control condition among 84 post-menopausal African American women residing in the metropolitan area of Birmingham, Alabama. This paper reports the rationale, design and baseline findings of the HIPP trial. The accrued participants had an average age of 57 (SD=4.7), a BMI of 32.1 kg/m(2) (SD=5.16) with more than half (55%) having a college education and an annual household income under $50,000 (53.6%). At baseline, participants reported an average of 41.5 min/week (SD=49.7) of moderate intensity physical activity, and 94.1% were in the contemplation or preparation stages of readiness for physical activity. While social support for exercise from friends and family was low, baseline levels of self-efficacy, cognitive and behavioral processes of change, decisional balance, outcome expectations, and enjoyment appeared promising. Baseline data indicated high rates of obesity and low levels of physical activity, providing strong evidence of need for intervention. Moreover, scores on psychosocial measures suggested that such efforts may be well received. This line of research in technology-based approaches for promoting physical activity in African American women in the Deep South has great potential to address health disparities and impact public health.
authors.affiliation: University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1665 University Blvd., Birmingham, AL US 35294, United States. Electronic address: dpekmezi@uab.edu.
authors.forename: Dori
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pekmezi
authors.affiliation: University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1665 University Blvd., Birmingham, AL US 35294, United States.
authors.forename: Cole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ainsworth
authors.affiliation: Arizona State University, 500 N. 3rd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004, United States.
authors.forename: Rodney
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Joseph
authors.affiliation: University of Texas at Austin, 103 W. 24th Street, Austin, TX 78712, United States.
authors.forename: Molly S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Bray
authors.affiliation: University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1665 University Blvd., Birmingham, AL US 35294, United States.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kvale
authors.affiliation: University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1665 University Blvd., Birmingham, AL US 35294, United States.
authors.forename: Shiney
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Isaac
authors.affiliation: University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1665 University Blvd., Birmingham, AL US 35294, United States.
authors.forename: Renee
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Desmond
authors.affiliation: University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1665 University Blvd., Birmingham, AL US 35294, United States.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Meneses
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, 0628, La Jolla, CA 92093-0628, United States.
authors.forename: Bess
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Marcus
authors.affiliation: University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1665 University Blvd., Birmingham, AL US 35294, United States.
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Demark-Wahnefried
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D000407:Alabama; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012107:Research Design; D014504:Urban Health / Q000208:ethnology
keywords: African American women; Health disparities; Home-based interventions; Physical activity