Abstract
Despite the health benefits of physical activity, many women remain inactive and the needs of rural women are understudied. To understand access to physical activity barriers, opportunities, and intervention preferences in rural women and determine how these differ by self-reported activity level. A mailed questionnaire was distributed to 900 rural women and included measures of physical activity, health status, barriers, opportunities for exercise, and preferences for intervention type, components, and delivery. Questionnaires were completed by 507 women; 72.0% reported meeting the physical activity guideline. Inactive women reported greater barriers to activity (higher scores on 18 of 22 barriers; p < 0.05), less access to or usage of 8 of 9 places to exercise (p < 0.05), and less belief in the relevance of physical activity to personal health (p < 0.001). Both inactive and active women were most interested in programs that use walking, yoga, or strength training. Physical activity interventions for rural women need to address their specific needs, including barriers to physical activity and lower access to places in which to be physically active.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Befort, C. A., Nazir, N., & Perri, M. G. (2012). Prevalence of obesity among adults from rural and urban areas of the United States: Findings from NHANES (2005–2008). Journal of Rural Health,28, 392–397. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-0361.2012.00411.x
Bocalini, D. S., Serra, A. J., dos Santos, L., Murad, N., & Levy, R. F. (2009). Strength training preserves the bone mineral density of postmenopausal women without hormone replacement therapy. Journal of Aging and Health,21, 519–527. https://doi.org/10.1177/0898264309332839
Cadmus-Bertram, L. A., Marcus, B. H., Patterson, R. E., Parker, B. A., & Morey, B. L. (2015a). Randomized trial of a Fitbit-based physical activity intervention for women. American Journal of Preventive Medicine,49, 414–418. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2015.01.020
Cadmus-Bertram, L., Marcus, B. H., Patterson, R. E., Parker, B. A., & Morey, B. L. (2015b). Use of the Fitbit to measure adherence to a physical activity intervention among overweight or obese, postmenopausal women: Self-monitoring trajectory during 16 weeks. JMIR mHealth uHealth,3, e96. https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.4229
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014a). Health Behaviors of Adults: United States, 2011–2014. Retrieved from https://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/NHIS/SHS/2011-2014_AHB_Table_PA-1.pdf
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014b). State indicator report on physical activity, 2014. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Colberg, S. R., Sigal, R. J., Yardley, J. E., Riddell, M. C., Dunstan, D. W., Dempsey, P. C., et al. (2016). Physical activity/exercise and diabetes: A position statement of the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes Care,39, 2065–2079. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc16-1728
Craig, C. L., Marshall, A. L., Sjostrom, M., Bauman, A. E., Booth, M. L., Ainsworth, B. E., et al. (2003). International Physical Activity Questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise,35, 1381–1395. https://doi.org/10.1249/01.MSS.0000078924.61453.FB
Fan, J. X., Wen, M., & Kowaleski-Jones, L. (2014). Rural-urban differences in objective and subjective measures of physical activity: Findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2006. Preventing Chronic Disease,11, E141. https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd11.140189
Kamada, M., Shiroma, E. J., Buring, J. E., Miyachi, M., & Lee, I. M. (2017). Strength training and all-cause, cardiovascular disease, and cancer mortality in older women: A cohort study. J Am Heart Assoc,6, e007677. https://doi.org/10.1161/jaha.117.007677
Keadle, S. K., McKinnon, R., Graubard, B. I., & Troiano, R. P. (2016). Prevalence and trends in physical activity among older adults in the United States: A comparison across three national surveys. Preventive Medicine,89, 37–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.05.009
Kegler, M. C., Swan, D. W., Alcantara, I., Wrensford, L., & Glanz, K. (2012). Environmental influences on physical activity in rural adults: The relative contributions of home, church and work settings. Journal of Physical Activity and Health,9, 996–1003.
Kurti, A. N., Logan, H., Manini, T., & Dallery, J. (2015). Physical activity behavior, barriers to activity, and opinions about a smartphone-based physical activity intervention among rural residents. Telemedicine Journal and e-Health,21, 16–23. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2014.0034
Lo, B. K., Morgan, E. H., Folta, S. C., Graham, M. L., Paul, L. C., Nelson, M. E., et al. (2017). Environmental influences on physical activity among rural adults in Montana, United States: Views from built environment audits, resident focus groups, and key informant interviews. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health,14, E1173. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14101173
Lobelo, F., Rohm Young, D., Sallis, R., Garber, M. D., Billinger, S. A., Duperly, J., et al. (2018). Routine assessment and promotion of physical activity in healthcare settings: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation,137, e495–e522. https://doi.org/10.1161/cir.0000000000000559
Marcus, B. H., & Forsyth, L. H. (2008). Motivating people to be physically active (2nd ed.). Champagne: Human Kinetics.
Marshall, E. S., Bland, H., & Melton, B. (2013). Perceived barriers to physical activity among pregnant women living in a rural community. Public Health Nursing,30, 361–369. https://doi.org/10.1111/phn.12006
Matthews, K. A., Croft, J. B., Liu, Y., Lu, H., Kanny, D., Wheaton, A. G., et al. (2017). Health-related behaviors by urban-rural county classification—United States, 2013. MMWR: Surveillance Summaries,66, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss6605a1
Moore, S. C., Lee, I. M., Weiderpass, E., Campbell, P. T., Sampson, J. N., Kitahara, C. M., et al. (2016). Association of leisure-time physical activity with risk of 26 types of cancer in 1.44 million adults. JAMA Internal Medicine,176, 816–825. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.1548
Nieto, F. J., Peppard, P. E., Engelman, C. D., McElroy, J. A., Galvao, L. W., Friedman, E. M., et al. (2010). The Survey of the Health of Wisconsin (SHOW), a novel infrastructure for population health research: Tationale and methods. BMC Public Health,10, 785. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-10-785
Park, T., Eyler, A. A., Tabak, R. G., Valko, C., & Brownson, R. C. (2017). Opportunities for promoting physical activity in rural communities by understanding the interests and values of community members. Journal of Environmental and Public Health,2017, 8608432. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/8608432
Peterson, J., Schmer, C., & Ward-Smith, P. (2013). Perceptions of Midwest rural women related to their physical activity and eating behaviors. Journal of Community Health Nursing,30, 72–82. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370016.2013.778722
Phillips, S. M., Cadmus Bertram, L., Rosenberg, D., Buman, M., & Lynch, B. (2018). Wearable technology and physical activity in chronic disease: Opportunities and challenges. American Journal of Preventive Medicine,54, 144–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2017.08.015
Sallis, J. F. (2009). Measuring physical activity environments: A brief history. American Journal of Preventive Medicine,36, S86–S92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2009.01.002
Seguin, R. A., Economos, C. D., Hyatt, R., Palombo, R., Reed, P. N., & Nelson, M. E. (2008). Design and national dissemination of the StrongWomen Community Strength Training Program. Preventing Chronic Disease,5, A25.
Seguin, R. A., Eldridge, G., Lynch, W., & Paul, L. C. (2013). Strength training improves body image and physical activity behaviors among midlife and older rural women. Journal of Extension,51, 4FEA2.
Troiano, R. P., Berrigan, D., Dodd, K. W., Masse, L. C., Tilert, T., & McDowell, M. (2008). Physical activity in the United States measured by accelerometer. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise,40, 181–188. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b013e31815a51b3
Tucker, J. M., Welk, G. J., & Beyler, N. K. (2011). Physical activity in U.S.: Adults compliance with the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. American Journal of Preventive Medicine,40, 454–461. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2010.12.016
U.S. Census Bureau. (2015). 2010 Census Urban and Rural Classification and Urban Area Criteria [WWW Document]. Last Revis. Febr. 09, 2015. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/geo/reference/ua/urban-rural-2010.html
US Department of Health and Human Services. (2018). Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans: 2nd Edition. Retrieved from https://health.gov/paguidelines/second-edition/pdf/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf
van Reenan, M. (2005). EQ-5D-3L User Guide. EuroQol Research Foundation. Retrieved from https://euroqol.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/EQ-5D-3L_UserGuide_2015.pdf
Whynes, D. K., & Group, T. (2008). Correspondence between EQ-5D health state classifications and EQ VAS scores. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes,6, 94. https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7525-6-94
Zimmermann, K., Carnahan, L. R., & Peacock, N. R. (2016). Age-associated perceptions of physical activity facilitators and barriers among women in rural southernmost Illinois. Preventing Chronic Disease,13, E138. https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd13.160247
Funding
This study was supported by the Virginia Horne Henry Committee. Dr. Cadmus-Bertram is supported by 1K07CA178870. The Survey of the Health of Wisconsin is supported by the Wisconsin Partnership Program Grant #2791.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
Lisa A. Cadmus-Bertram, Jessica S. Gorzelitz, Diana C. Dorn and Kristen M. C. Malecki declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Human and animal rights and Informed consent
All procedures followed were in accordance with ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cadmus-Bertram, L.A., Gorzelitz, J.S., Dorn, D.C. et al. Understanding the physical activity needs and interests of inactive and active rural women: a cross-sectional study of barriers, opportunities, and intervention preferences. J Behav Med 43, 638–647 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-019-00070-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-019-00070-z