title: Pasos Hacia La Salud: a randomized controlled trial of an internet-delivered physical activity intervention for Latinas.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Internet access has grown markedly in Latinos during the past decade. However, there have been no Internet-based physical activity interventions designed for Latinos, despite large disparities in lifestyle-related conditions, such as obesity and diabetes, particularly in Latina women. The current study tested the efficacy of a 6-month culturally adapted, individually tailored, Spanish-language Internet-based physical activity intervention.
  
  
  METHODS
  Inactive Latinas (N = 205) were randomly assigned to the Tailored Physical Activity Internet Intervention or the Wellness Contact Control Internet Group. Participants in both groups received emails on a tapered schedule over 6 months to alert them to new content on the website. The primary outcome was minutes/week of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) at 6 months as measured by the 7-Day Physical Activity Recall; activity was also measured by accelerometers. Data were collected between 2011 and 2014 and analyzed in 2015 at the University of California, San Diego.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Increases in minutes/week of MVPA were significantly greater in the Intervention Group compared to the Control Group (mean difference = 50.00, SE = 9.5, p < 0.01). Increases in objectively measured MVPA were also significantly larger in the Intervention Group (mean differences = 31.0, SE = 10.7, p < .01). The Intervention Group was also significantly more likely to meet national physical activity guidelines at 6 months (OR = 3.12, 95% CI 1.46-6.66, p < .05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings from the current study suggest that this Internet-delivered individually tailored intervention successfully increased MVPA in Latinas compared to a Wellness Contact Control Internet Group.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  NCT01834287.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0628, USA. bmarcus@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Bess H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Marcus
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0628, USA.
authors.forename: Sheri J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hartman
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0628, USA.
authors.forename: Britta A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Larsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Behavior, School of Public Health at University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Dori
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pekmezi
authors.affiliation: Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI and Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
authors.forename: Shira I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Dunsiger
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0628, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Linke
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0628, USA.
authors.forename: Becky
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Marquez
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences and the Institute for Community Health Promotion, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
authors.forename: Kim M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Gans
authors.affiliation: Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI and Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
authors.forename: Beth C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Bock
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0628, USA.
authors.forename: Andrea S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Mendoza-Vasconez
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0628, USA.
authors.forename: Madison L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Noble
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0628, USA.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rojas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054521:Cultural Competency; D034742:Electronic Mail; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007802:Language; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D009765:Obesity; D016017:Odds Ratio; D017216:Telemedicine; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Behavioral intervention; Internet; Latinas; Physical activity; Public health; Technology