Abstract B4: Health-related and sociocultural correlates of physical activity among an African American cohort
Authors: Cogbill Salimah 
Published: May 2012

Background: Participation in physical activity has been shown to have many health benefits including contributions to the reduction in rates of all-cause morbidity/mortality and helps in the prevention of many chronic diseases, including cancer. Despite these known health benefits, national data indicates that adherence to recommendations are low, with the rates being the lowest among African Americans. Socio-demographic characteristics, having a history of co-morbid conditions, and physician recommendation to exercise have all been shown to influence participation. However, few studies have measured the impact of socio-cultural factors. This presentation identifies demographic, health influenced, and socio-cultural factors that have been found to play a role in physical activity participation in a cohort of African Americans.

Method: African American men and women (ages 45–75), residing in a Midwest metropolitan area, participated in a two-armed randomized community intervention trial (N = 661). Each participant completed a baseline survey that contained questions regarding physical activity participation, demographic, and health related characteristics. The survey also included questions about socio-cultural (SC) factors found to be relevant in previous research with this population. Baseline data were analyzed to determine the rate of participation in physical activity as well as the rate of adherence to guidelines (i.e., 30+ minutes of moderate physical activity five or more days per week, or vigorous physical activity for 20+ minutes three or more days per week). Additional analyses examined demographic, health-related (personal history of chronic diseases and physician recommendation), and SC characteristics (mistrust, collectivism, humanism, social desirability, and nationalism) to determine their relative influence on physical activity participation and adherence to guidelines.

Results: The rates of physical activity participation (83.6%) and adherence (52%) were slightly higher for this cohort than previously reported. Bivariate analyses indicated that being married, having more than a high school education, having an income of more than $40,000, being employed, receiving a physician recommendation to exercise, and having chronic disease were significantly associated with physical activity participation and adherence (p&lt;0.05). Additionally, being mistrustful of the medical establishment and identifying with a collectivist viewpoint were also important. Logistic regression analyses indicated that receiving a physician recommendation to exercise, having high mistrust of the medical establishment and identifying with a collectivist viewpoint significantly influenced physical activity participation and adherence after adjustment (p&lt;0.05). These findings may provide new strategies for increasing physical activity among African Americans, which can ultimately result in improvements in cancer prevention and control for this population.

Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2010;3(1 Suppl):B4.