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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Item Leveraging Household Structure for Increasing Adult Physical Activity in a Low-Income, African American Community(SAGE Journals, 2018-11-28) Bernhart, John; Yilitalo, Kelly; Doyle, Eva; Wilkinson, Lindsay; Stone, KahlerHealth behavior changes often require focusing on factors beyond the individual, particularly in low-income and underresourced areas. The purpose of this article was to assess associations between household structure and adult physical activity levels. Data were collected using Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response methodology to administer a household survey (n = 100). Household structure was calculated from summing the number of adults (⩾18 years) and children (<18 years) reported living in the house. Physical activity was measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire–Short Form. Adults living in households with two or more adults reported more MET (metabolic equivalent of task) minutes of physical activity per week than adults from households with only one adult. Adults living in households with two or more adults were twice as likely to meet aerobic guidelines for physical activity compared to adults living in households with only adult. Findings suggest the need for developing ecologic approaches in low-income communities to increase social support for physical activity in adults.Item Physical Activity Maintenance Following Home-Based, Individually Tailored Print Interventions for African American Women(SAGE Journals, 2018-09-11) Pekmezi, Dori; Ainsworth, Cole; Desmond, Renee; Pisu, Maria; Williams, Victoria; Wang, Kaiying; Holly, Taylor; Menesses, Karen; Marcus, Bess; Denmark- Wahnefried, WendyAfrican American women report low participation in physical activity and are disproportionately burdened by related conditions (obesity, breast, and colon cancer). Physical activity interventions have shown promising results among African American women, but most studies in this area have focused on short-term increases. More enduring changes in health behavior will be needed to eliminate existing health disparities. Thus, the current study examined 12-month physical activity and psychosocial outcomes from a pilot randomized controlled trial (N = 84) of a Home-based Individually tailored Physical activity Print (HIPP) intervention for African American women in the Deep South. Retention was 77.4% at 12 months. HIPP participants increased self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity from 35.1 minutes/week (standard deviation [SD] = 47.8) at baseline to 124 minutes/week (SD = 95.5) at 12 months, compared with the wellness contact control participants who reported increases from 48.2 minutes/week (SD = 51.3) to 102.5 minutes/week (SD = 94.5) over 12 months (between-group p > .05). Results indicate that modest improvements in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and related psychosocial variables occurred during the active intervention phase (months 0-6) and were sustained during the tapered maintenance period (months 6-12). Low-cost, high-reach, home-based strategies have great potential for supporting sustained participation in physical activity and achieving long-term health benefits among African American women in the Deep South.Item Promoting Functional Health in Midlife and Old Age: Long-Term Protective Effects of Control Beliefs, Social Support, and Physical Exercise(2010) Baune, Bernhard T.; Lachman, Margie E.; Agrigoroaei, StefanBACKGROUND: Previous studies have examined physical risk factors in relation to functional health, but less work has focused on the protective role of psychological and social factors. We examined the individual and joint protective contribution of control beliefs, social support and physical exercise to changes in functional health, beyond the influence of health status and physical risk factors in middle-aged and older adults. Given that functional health typically declines throughout adulthood, it is important to identify modifiable factors that can be implemented to maintain functioning, improve quality of life, and reduce disability. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We conducted a national longitudinal study, Midlife in the United States (MIDUS), with assessments in 1995-1996 and 2004-2006, and 3,626 community-residing adults, aged 32 to 84, were included in the analyses. Functional health (Physical Functioning subscale of the SF-36) and protective factors were measured at both occasions. While controlling for socio-demographic, health status, and physical risk factors (large waist circumference, smoking, and alcohol or drug problems), a composite of the three protective variables (control beliefs, social support, and physical exercise) at Time 1 was significantly related to functional health change. The more of these factors at Time 1, the better the health maintenance over 10 years. Among middle-aged and older adults, declines in health were significantly reduced with an increased number of protective factors. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Age-related declines in health were reduced among those with more protective factors up to a decade earlier in life. Modifiable psychological, social, and physical protective factors, individually and in the aggregate, are associated with maintenance of functional health, beyond the damaging effects of physical risk factors. The results are encouraging for the prospect of developing interventions to promote functional health and for reducing public health expenditures for physical disability in later life.