title: Linking patients with community resources: use of a free YMCA membership among low-income black women.
abstract: Given the increasing interest in expanding obesity prevention efforts to cover community-based programs, we examined whether individuals would access a YMCA for physical activity promotion. We provided a no-cost 12-month YMCA membership to socioeconomically disadvantaged black women who were randomized to the intervention arm of a weight gain prevention trial (n = 91). Analyses examined associations of membership activation and use with baseline psychosocial, contextual, health-related, and sociodemographic factors. Many participants (70.3 %) activated their memberships; however, use was low (42.2 % had no subsequent visits, 46.9 % had one to ten visits). There were no predictors of membership activation, but individuals living below/borderline the federal poverty line were more likely to use the center (1+ visits), as were those who met physical activity guidelines at baseline. More comprehensive and intensive interventions may be necessary to promote use of community resources-even when provided free-among high-risk populations of women with obesity that live in rural areas of the USA.
authors.affiliation: Health Studies and Department of Kinesiology, University of Rhode Island, 25 West Independence Way, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA. mgreaney@uri.edu.
authors.forename: Mary L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Greaney
authors.affiliation: Duke Global Digital Health Science Center, Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Sandy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Askew
authors.affiliation: Duke Global Digital Health Science Center, Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Perry
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Foley
authors.affiliation: Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, D.C, 20007, USA.
authors.forename: Sherrie F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Wallington
authors.affiliation: Duke Global Digital Health Science Center, Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27710, USA.|Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA.
authors.forename: Gary G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Bennett
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D020446:Fitness Centers / Q000191:economics; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D050177:Overweight / Q000208:ethnology / Q000628:therapy*; D011203:Poverty; D012424:Rural Population; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: African American women; Community-based resources; Physical activity; YMCA intervention