Recorded presentation

JoEllen Wilbur, PhD, RN, FAAN¹, Annemarie Vassalo, Ms, MPH, RN², Judith McDevitt, PhD RN¹, Arlene Michaels Miller, PhD, RN³, and Peggy Chandler, PhD¹. (1) College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 S. Damen, Chicago, IL 60612, 312-9967980, JWilbur@uic.edu, (2) MedstarHealth, 2021 ). St. NW #42, Washington, DC 20036, (3) Public Health, Mental Health & Admin. Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 South Damen, Room 1016, Chicago, IL 60077

Despite the known benefits of physical activity, 27% of women report no leisure physical activity in the prior month, and of those who begin an exercise program, dropout can be 50% in the first 6 months. The challenge is to identify factors that influence not only adoption, but maintenance of physical activity. The purpose of this study is to: 1) describe African American and Caucasian women’s maintenance of walking during the 24 weeks following the end of the intervention phase of a 24-week moderate intensity home-based walking program (duration 4x/week); 2) identify the effects of background characteristics, self-efficacy for overcoming barriers, and adherence to walking during the intervention phase on adherence to walking during the maintenance phase. Participants were 90 Caucasian and African American women, 40 to 65 years, who completed the intervention phase. Self-efficacy, aerobic fitness, and body fat were measured at baseline, 24 and 48 weeks. Throughout the intervention and maintenance adherence was measured with an exercise log. On average, participants adhered to 64% of the expected walks during maintenance. The multiple regression showed that adherence to walking during the intervention and self-efficacy at the end of the intervention were significant predictors of adherence during the maintenance phase, 38% of the variance explained. Results suggest that self-efficacy and adherence during the intervention play a role in women’s continued walking. Findings reflect dynamic patterns of adopting and maintaining a new behavior and reinforce the need for interventions that go beyond the commonly accepted 6 months to move into maintenance.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe women's dynamic patterns of adherence during maintenance of a home-based walking program.
• Idenfity those factors that influence maintenance of walking after the active phase of an intervention.

Keywords: Exercise, Women

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation