Promoting Exercise and Physical Activity among High-Risk Vulnerable Populations
Disciplines
Community-Based Learning | Demography, Population, and Ecology | Race and Ethnicity | Social Work | Sociology
Abstract (300 words maximum)
The goal of this study is to increase our understanding of how health promotion involving exercise and physical activity is influenced by race/ethnicity, gender, culture, socio-economic status, geography among vulnerable populations. Health promotion and disease prevention involves a cluster of behaviors, processes, contexts, and relationships among the “self”, providers, health care system, family, and community increasing participant self-efficacy to make a change. Despite much research in health promotion, critical gaps in knowledge still exist, especially regarding vulnerable and underserved populations. More specifically, low-income African American men represent a particularly vulnerable group, often experiencing significant health inequalities, risk factors and multiple chronic conditions, including hypertension, hyper-cholesterolemia, diabetes, HIV, and mental illness. This population often experiences added difficulties carrying out health protective behaviors, in part due to cultural beliefs and practices, knowledge and perceptions regarding health and illness, and lack of networks to support ongoing engagement in prescribed care. These challenges contribute to further disparities in risk factors and ultimately disability and death. An improved understanding of the relative and combined influences of important psychosocial factors is essential for the design of policies and programs that improve the health and encourage behavior change among low-income and minority Americans is needed. In this study, we conducted focus groups with low-income African American men, their family members, and healthcare providers to describe lived experiences and identify opportunities and challenges regarding exercise and physical activity as well as key elements influencing participation and engagement. This study addresses the complexity of health promotion to achieve clinically important outcomes such as minimizing disability, optimizing function, and living well among all patients. This formative work improves our understanding of health promotion targeting low-income African American men. Moreover, we demonstrate the feasibility of recruiting for and implementing a more culturally relevant intervention with a vulnerable and often hard-to-engage population.
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Evelina Sterling
Promoting Exercise and Physical Activity among High-Risk Vulnerable Populations
The goal of this study is to increase our understanding of how health promotion involving exercise and physical activity is influenced by race/ethnicity, gender, culture, socio-economic status, geography among vulnerable populations. Health promotion and disease prevention involves a cluster of behaviors, processes, contexts, and relationships among the “self”, providers, health care system, family, and community increasing participant self-efficacy to make a change. Despite much research in health promotion, critical gaps in knowledge still exist, especially regarding vulnerable and underserved populations. More specifically, low-income African American men represent a particularly vulnerable group, often experiencing significant health inequalities, risk factors and multiple chronic conditions, including hypertension, hyper-cholesterolemia, diabetes, HIV, and mental illness. This population often experiences added difficulties carrying out health protective behaviors, in part due to cultural beliefs and practices, knowledge and perceptions regarding health and illness, and lack of networks to support ongoing engagement in prescribed care. These challenges contribute to further disparities in risk factors and ultimately disability and death. An improved understanding of the relative and combined influences of important psychosocial factors is essential for the design of policies and programs that improve the health and encourage behavior change among low-income and minority Americans is needed. In this study, we conducted focus groups with low-income African American men, their family members, and healthcare providers to describe lived experiences and identify opportunities and challenges regarding exercise and physical activity as well as key elements influencing participation and engagement. This study addresses the complexity of health promotion to achieve clinically important outcomes such as minimizing disability, optimizing function, and living well among all patients. This formative work improves our understanding of health promotion targeting low-income African American men. Moreover, we demonstrate the feasibility of recruiting for and implementing a more culturally relevant intervention with a vulnerable and often hard-to-engage population.