Formative Study to Inform a Physical Activity Intervention Targeted to Rural Men in the United States
Date
2025-02-19
Authors
Bayman, Emine O
Cadmus-Bertram, Lisa A
Jenkins, Nathaniel DM
Pearlman, Amy
Whitaker, Kara M
Carr, Lucas J
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Wiley Periodicals LLC
Abstract
American rural men have a higher risk of inactivity-related disease and premature mortality compared to rural women and urban men [1-3]. However, only 27.6% of rural men meet the physical activity guidelines [4]. Our previous study found that 80% of rural American men were interested in a physical activity intervention [5], yet rural men make up a small proportion (< 15%) of people in physical activity interventions [6].
Preliminary evidence from Australia suggest that rural men may be interested in tailored interventions [7]. While rare, physical activity interventions specifically tailored to men have been effective at recruiting and retaining men; however, these past studies have been targeted primarily to urban men outside of the United States [8, 9].
The Obesity-Related Behavior Intervention Trials (ORBIT) model [10] was developed to develop behavioral interventions efficiently, effectively, and targeted to the needs of specific populations, and uses similar terminology to testing new pharmaceutics. During Phase Ia (define), the basic elements of the intervention are defined, including the behavior change theory used, appropriate population, and barriers to be addressed. In Phase Ib (refine) of the ORBIT model, the mode of delivery and intervention features need to be identified.
Our prior research met the benchmark in Phase Ia [5], but additional evidence is needed to meet the benchmarks in Phase Ib of the ORBIT model. The aim of this study is to reach those milestones by identifying: (1) potential psychosocial constructs to targets, (2) behavior change techniques, (3) channels of delivery (how information is delivered and by whom), and (4) a specific focus of the program.
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Comments
This article is published as Gallagher, J.B., Bayman, EO, Cadmus-Bertram, L., Jenkins, NDM, Pearlman, A., Whitaker, KM, & Carr, LJ. Formative study to inform a physical activity intervention targeted to rural men in the United States. Health Science Reports. 2025, 8(2);e70485. https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.70485 .
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Funding
This research was supported by the Graduate and Professional Student Government at the University of Iowa.