Minority Health and Health Equity Archive

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/21769

Welcome to the Minority Health and Health Equity Archive (MHHEA), an electronic archive for digital resource materials in the fields of minority health and health disparities research and policy. It is offered as a no-charge resource to the public, academic scholars and health science researchers interested in the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities.

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Author: search.filters.author.Chandler, Peggy JSubject: search.filters.subject.physical activity

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    Correlates of Physical Activity in Urban Midwestern Latinas
    (2003) Wilbur, JoEllen; Chandler, Peggy J; Dancy, Barbara; Lee, Hyeonkyeong
    Background: Latinas (Latino women) are at higher risk than non-Latina white women of cardiovascular disease and stroke, primarily because of higher rates of obesity and type-2 diabetes mellitus. Increases in physical activity help control these cardiovascular risk factors, but a higher percentage of Latinas than white women are inactive. The study goals were to identify personal, social environmental, and physical environmental correlates of physical activity of urban-dwelling, Midwestern Latinas and to obtain their recommendations for increasing exercise in their communities. Methods: A face-to-face interview (Women and Physical Activity Survey) that covered personal, social environmental, and physical environmental correlates of physical activity was performed with 300 volunteer Latinas (242 in Spanish, 58 in English), aged 20 to 50 years, living in Chicago. Physical activity was measured with questions on lifestyle and planned leisure activity (exercise) from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. Results: The sample consisted of urban-dwelling Latinas who were primarily from Mexico and who spoke predominantly Spanish. The breakdown was as follows: 36% met current recommendations for moderate or vigorous physical activity, 52.3% were insufficiently active, and 11.7% were inactive. Physical activity was higher among younger women, married women, and women with the following characteristics: had some confidence about becoming more active, saw people exercising in the neighborhood, attended religious services, or lived in areas with heavy traffic. Conclusions: Interventions need to focus on encouraging Latinas, especially those who are older, to reach the level of physical activity recommended to benefit health. The church may be a suitable community setting for initiating programs that provide women with the knowledge, skills, and motivation to become more active so that they can bring back to the larger Latina community.
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    Correlates of Physical Activity in Urban Midwestern African-American Women
    (2003) Wilbur, JoEllen; Chandler, Peggy J; Dancy, Barbara; Lee, Hyeonkyeong
    Background: African-American women are at higher risk than white women of cardiovascular disease and stroke. In addition, fewer African-American women reap the cardiovascular benefits of exercise, because of low physical activity. The study goals were to identify personal, social environmental, and physical environmental correlates of physical activity of urban dwelling, Midwestern, African-American women and to obtain their recommendations for increasing exercise in their communities. Methods: A face-to-face interview (Women and Physical Activity Survey) covering personal, social environmental, and physical environmental correlates of physical activity was administered to 399 volunteer African-American women aged 20 to 50 years, living in Chicago. Physical activity was measured with questions on lifestyle and planned leisure-time activity (exercise) from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Results: The women were from a wide socioeconomic spectrum of education and income. Forty-two percent of the women met current recommendations for moderate or vigorous physical activity; 48% were insufficiently active; and 9% were inactive. The following groups of women were more likely to be physically active: women with at least a high school education; women with perceived good health; women who knew people who exercise; and women who viewed the neighborhood as safe. These findings were statistically significant. Conclusions: Interventions that target urban African-American women must address the safety of the physical environment and personal and social environmental correlates of physical activity, and they should focus especially on inactive women who have less than a high school education or perceive themselves to be in poor health.