Submit to IJERPH Review for IJERPH Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Ecological Determinants of Physical Activity in Underserved Populations: Evidence to Inform Interventions

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 July 2020) | Viewed by 11074

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Rui Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Health Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Interests: Adolescent Health; Obesity; Diabetes; Lifestyle Interventions

Dr. Justin B. Moore

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC27101, USA
Interests: obesity; sleep; physical activity; healthy eating; lifestyle intervention; mHealth; implementation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Insufficient physical activity is a global epidemic which affects billions of people around the world. While a considerable amount is known about the consequences of insufficient physical activity, and there is an emerging literature on the dangers of sedentary behaviors, little is known about the modifiable determinants of physical activity that can be targeted for intervention. This is true of individuals experiencing health disparities in high-income counties but is especially true of citizens in low- and middle-income countries who may be displaying declines in physical activity even as their economic circumstances improve. Furthermore, much of the published literature in this area has focused on individual-level determinants of physical activity and sedentary behaviors, which ignores a large body of literature in more general populations demonstrating that determinants of physical activity exist at the interpersonal, environmental, and policy levels of the ecological model. To address this gap in the literature, we are interested in submissions to this Special Issue of the journal that employ an ecological framework to understand physical activity and/or sedentary behaviors in underserved populations, such as those living in rural areas or low- and middle-income countries. We are also interested in studies which consider the unique culturally-related barriers and supports for physical activity experienced by ethnic and racial groups who experience related health disparities.

For this Special Issue, we seek research papers that will inform future efforts to intervene on at-risk populations in community settings to promote increased physical activity and/or decreased sedentary behavior. We are especially interested in the submission of longitudinal observational or intervention studies. We welcome original research papers reporting the results of observational and intervention studies as well as systematic reviews and meta-analysis.

Dr. Rui Li
Dr. Justin B. Moore
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Physical activity
Exercise
Epidemiology
Determinants
Intervention
Implementation

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

12 pages, 1475 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Obstructions and the Recognition of Cancer Inpatient Physical Activity Based on Exercise Experience

by Jeon Sangwan, Yi Eunsurk and Kim Jiyoun

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(15), 5482; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17155482 - 29 Jul 2020

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1863

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze and understand the mechanisms of physical activity obstructions in hospitalized cancer patients by investigating their physical activity levels, previous exercise experience levels, and exercise recognition. A survey was conducted for 194 hospitalized cancer patients using a questionnaire. In addition, we performed exploratory factor analysis, frequency analysis, reliability analysis, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis, using SPSS Statistics for Windows, Ver. 23.0. The results were as follows: (1) The physical activity level of the previous exercise participation experience (EPE) group had a greater effect on physical activity obstructions compared with the non-experience (NE) group. (2) The results for the effects of exercise recognition on the physical activity level and physical activity obstructions indicated that exercise recognition in the two groups increased the relative effects on physical activity obstructions in all variables except for the physical obstructions of the EPE group. Consequently, the physical activity level, exercise experience level, and exercise recognition in those patients were confirmed to be the major factors affecting their physical activity obstruction. Therefore, in this study, we provided quantitative data required for establishing healing environments based on motion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Determinants of Physical Activity in Underserved Populations: Evidence to Inform Interventions)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 859 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identifying Social Network Conditions that Facilitate Sedentary Behavior Change: The Benefit of Being a “Bridge” in a Group-based Intervention

by Sabina B. Gesell, Kayla de la Haye, Evan C. Sommer, Santiago J. Saldana, Shari L. Barkin and Edward H. Ip

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(12), 4197; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17124197 - 12 Jun 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2596

Abstract

Using data from one of the first trials to try to leverage social networks as a mechanism for obesity intervention, we examined which social network conditions amplified behavior change. Data were collected as part of a community-based healthy lifestyle intervention in Nashville, USA, between June 2014 and July 2017. Adults randomized to the intervention arm were assigned to a small group of 10 participants that met in person for 12 weekly sessions. Intervention small group social networks were measured three times; sedentary behavior was measured by accelerometry at baseline and 12 months. Multivariate hidden Markov models classified people into distinct social network trajectories over time, based on the structure of the emergent network and where the individual was embedded. A multilevel regression analysis assessed the relationship between network trajectory and sedentary behavior (N = 261). Being a person that connected clusters of intervention participants at any point during the intervention predicted an average reduction of 31.3 min/day of sedentary behavior at 12 months, versus being isolated [95% CI: (−61.4, −1.07), p = 0.04]. Certain social network conditions may make it easier to reduce adult sedentary behavior in group-based interventions. While further research will be necessary to establish causality, the implications for intervention design are discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Determinants of Physical Activity in Underserved Populations: Evidence to Inform Interventions)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

10 pages, 349 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of a Sports-Educational Program in Prisons

by Gema Ortega Vila, Manuel Tomás Abad Robles, José Robles Rodríguez, Luis Javier Durán González, Jorge Franco Martín, Ana Concepción Jiménez Sánchez and Francisco Javier Giménez Fuentes-Guerra

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(10), 3467; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17103467 - 15 May 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3241

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the implementation of a sports-educational program in prisons where the Real Madrid Foundation’s Social-Sports Program is carried out. For that purpose, a survey of 468 inmates was conducted at 21 prisons in Spain where the Real Madrid Foundation implements its program (441 men (94.23%) and 27 women (5.77%)). Inmates stated that the program had had a favorable influence on their life in prison and considered that their participation in the program might have a significant influence on the likelihood of them continuing to play sports when they are released. In addition, inmates felt that they had learned a great deal about the contents relating to football and the values they had worked on, and that the program had had a very positive effect on their overall development as a person. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Determinants of Physical Activity in Underserved Populations: Evidence to Inform Interventions)

11 pages, 526 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Citizen Science Approach to Determine Physical Activity Patterns and Demographics of Greenway Users in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

by Joshua R. Dilley, Justin B. Moore, Phillip Summers, Amanda A. Price, Matthew Burczyk, Lynn Byrd, Patricia J. Sisson and Alain G. Bertoni

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(17), 3150; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16173150 - 29 Aug 2019

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2943

Abstract

Citizen science is a growing method of scientific discovery and community engagement. To date, there is a paucity of data using citizen scientists to monitor community level physical activity, such as bicycling or walking; these data are critical to inform community level intervention. Volunteers were recruited from the local community to make observations at five local greenways. The volunteers picked their location, time to collect data and duration of data collection. Volunteer observations included recording estimated age, race or ethnicity and activity level of each individual they encountered walking, running or bicycling on the greenway. A total of 102 volunteers were recruited to participate in the study, of which 60% completed one or more observations. Average observational time lasted 81 minutes and resulted in recording the demographics and physical activity of a mean of 48 people per session. The majority of adult bicyclists observed were biking at a moderate pace (86%) and were white (72%) males (62%). Similar results were observed for those walking. We demonstrate the feasibility of using citizen scientists to address the current scarcity of data describing community-level physical activity behavior patterns. Future work should focus on refining the citizen science approach for the collection of physical activity data to inform community-specific interventions in order to increase greenway use. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Determinants of Physical Activity in Underserved Populations: Evidence to Inform Interventions)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Ecological Determinants of Physical Activity in Underserved Populations: Evidence to Inform Interventions

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (4 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI