Maintaining Physical Activity in Ethnic Minority Women

缺乏运动直接导致健康疾病，包括乳腺癌和结肠癌，并间接导致许多其他癌症，部分原因是导致肥胖。少数民族报告的缺乏体育活动和肥胖率更高。以个人为重点的体力活动(PA)干预措施最初是有效的。高达50%的人在6个月内辍学，此后维护量继续下降。生态模型假设不支持PA的环境会阻碍PA的维护。很少有研究测试支持性环境与个别有针对性的干预措施增加PA的综合影响。这项研究的目的是(1)确定24周社会凝聚力干预(SOCO)是否比延迟对照(CONT)更有效地采用步行作为休闲锻炼和交通工具；(2)确定居住在高支持度PA区(HIGH)的参与者是否比居住在低支持度PA区(Low)的参与者更有效地维持步行；(3)确定这种效果是否可以跨文化复制到来自两个城市的两个文化群体。休斯顿的非洲裔美国女性和奥斯汀的西班牙裔女性将从教堂和社区中心招募，并被随机分配到SOCO或CONT。参与者所在的社区将被归类为高支持率或低支持率。参与者将完成基线(T1)、干预后(T2)和6个月随访(T3)时的书面社会人口学、步行(国际体力活动问卷)和健康测量。参与者将完成加速度计评估，作为有效性检查。假设(1)SOCO的参与者在T2时的步行时间将比CONT多，(2)居住在高社区的SOCO参与者在T3时的步行时间将比低社区的参与者多，以及(3)这种效应将在跨文化中复制。如果得到支持，假设将表明SOCO战略的持续效果受到环境支持的影响。

inactivity contributes to health maladies including breast and colon cancers directly, and numerous other cancers indirectly, in part by contributing to obesity. Ethnic minorities report higher rates of physical inactivity and obesity. Individually-focused physical activity (PA) interventions are initially effective. Up to 50% drop out within 6 months, and maintenance continues to decline after this time. Ecological models posit that environments do not support PA impede PA maintenance. There have been few investigations testing the combined effects of supportive environments with individually focused interventions that increase PA. The purpose of the proposed study is (1) to determine whether a 24 week social cohesion intervention (SOCO) is more effective for adopting walking for leisure exercise and transport in comparison to a delayed control (CONT), (2) to determine whether walking is more effectively maintained by participants who reside in highly supportive PA areas (HIGH) in comparison to those who reside in low supportive PA areas (LOW), and (3) to determine whether this effect is transculturally replicable across 2 cultural groups from 2 cities. African American women in Houston and Hispanic women in Austin will be recruited from churches and community centers and randomized to either SOCO or CONT. Participants' neighborhoods will be classified as HIGH or LOW supportive. Participants will complete written socio demographic, walking (International Physical Activity Questionnaire), and health measures at baseline (T1), post intervention (T2), and 6 month follow-up (T3). Participants will complete accelerometer assessments as a validity check. It is hypothesized that (1) participants in SOCO will report more walking at T2 than CONT, (2) SOCO participants residing in HIGH neighborhoods will report greater minutes of walking than LOW at T3, and (3) this effect will be transculturally replicable. If supported, hypotheses will suggest that the sustained effect of SOCO strategies is moderated by environmental supports.