Glen W White | Search PubMed

PubMed2004

Promoting physical activity among women with mobility impairments: a randomized controlled trial to assess a home- and community-based intervention.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of an intervention to promote physical activity and fitness in physically disabled women. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Home or community. PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-five adult women with mobility limitations. INTERVENTION: Incorporated behavioral techniques, social support, and education to promote exercise. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Fitness measures included weight, body mass index, resting blood pressure and heart rate, time to complete a mobility course, and heart rate during and blood pressure after navigating the course. Also collected self-reported experience of secondary conditions and weekly self-reports of physical activity. RESULTS: We found no significant fitness differences between groups, except for peak heart rate. However, paired t tests of the physical activity data revealed the experimental group significantly increased its total weekly physical activity minutes (P=.04), and the increase in weekly cardiovascular activity approached significance (P=.06). CONCLUSIONS: The experimental group did not experience better fitness or fewer secondary conditions than the controls. However, the experimental group's physical activity data indicate that this group significantly increased its activity over 6 months. Thus, although this study did not detect health changes, it showed that mobility-impaired women can adopt and maintain a physical activity program.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2004

Developing and systematically implementing participatory action research.

Participatory Action Research (PAR) is a collaborative approach to conducting research that recently emerged as a paradigm for bridging science and clinical practice. The key characteristic of this approach--collaboration between consumers and researchers--often increases the relevance of research while maintaining the standards of scientific rigor. Although PAR is receiving increased attention from researchers and consumers in social science and public health, it has not been implemented widely. Some of the reasons for a limited application of PAR in the field include lack of knowledge about PAR and strategies for its implementation. This article defines PAR, provides an overview of the characteristics of this approach, and discusses 4 elements for systematic incorporation of the PAR approach into the research process. The elements are (1) participant selection and recruitment, (2) role and relationship clarification for researchers and participants, (3) research team education, and (4) management and support.

Community Participation↗