“It was just for us”: qualitative evaluation of an exercise intervention for African-American couples

BMC Public Health

Amy Rauer¹  Chloe S. Jones²  Lyndsey M. Hornbuckle²  Cristina S. Barroso³  Kerri M. Winters-Stone⁴ 

[1] Department of Child & Family Studies, University of Tennessee, 115 Jesse Harris Building, 1215 W. Cumberland Avenue, Knoxville, USA;Department of Kinesiology, Recreation, & Sport Studies, University of Tennessee, 322 HPER Building, 1914 Andy Holt Avenue, Knoxville, USA;Department of Public Health, University of Tennessee, 390 HPER Building, 1914 Andy Holt Avenue, Knoxville, USA;School of Nursing and Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, 3455 SW US Veterans Hospital Road, 97239, Portland, OR, USA;

关键词: Intimate relationships/marriage;    Dyads;    Older adults;    Resistance training;    Walking;    Cultural relevance;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-021-10659-2

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundPromoting long-term exercise adherence should be a key focus for health and fitness professionals working to reduce obesity and cardiometabolic health disparities, and all-cause mortality in inactive African-American (AA) adults. Data have suggested that romantic partners can improve long-term exercise adherence and that this dyadic approach should be examined in exercise interventions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to conduct a qualitative evaluation of a pilot exercise intervention conducted in older AA couples.MethodsTwo semi-structured focus groups were utilized to compare participants’ perceptions of and experiences during the pilot intervention across two randomly assigned treatment conditions (exercising together with partner [ET; n = 8] versus exercising separately [ES: n = 6]). Participants (mean age: 64.7 ± 6.8 years) of a previous 12-week pilot exercise intervention (walking ≥3 days/week, 30 min/day plus supervised resistance training 2 days/week) were interviewed. Verbatim transcripts were coded using an open coding approach.ResultsThree key themes (intervention value/benefits, intervention difficulties, and suggested improvements) emerged. Although all couples identified health and relationship benefits of the intervention, some differences surfaced within themes across the two intervention groups.ConclusionsOverall, these qualitative data suggest that couples had a positive experience while participating in the pilot study. In addition, key learning points to improve the intervention were identified including a more gradual transition to independent exercise, more flexibility training, and the incorporation of tangential education. These data will help investigators continue to develop the intervention, which is ultimately designed to promote long-term exercise adherence to reduce cardiometabolic health disparities in the AA community.

【 授权许可】

CC BY