Perceived benefits and barriers to suggested physical activity promotion strategies among African Americans in the Mississippi Delta

It has been shown that African Americans (AAs) are more sedentary than whites, particularly low-income and less educated individuals. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions regarding benefits and barriers of physical activity promotion among adult AAs in the Mississippi Delta. The study consisted of three phases: (1) development of the topic guide in collaboration with existing community health advisors working with this population; (2) focus groups (FGs) with AAs to explore and sociocultural factors associated with physical activity with groups being segmented by age (between 19 and 44 years of age and 45 years of age and older) and gender; and (3) FGs with the purpose of providing feedback to the target population on the findings of the first set of FGs and obtain their input on the suggested strategies for physical activity promotion as outlined in the Guide to Community Preventive Services. Participants included 18 community health advisors, 118 and 53 AAs in the first and second sets of FGs respectively. No differences were found across age. Although minor differences were obtained between men and women, overall both genders suggested that comprehensive approaches rather than isolated strategies with community involvement would be recommended. Some suggestions included: social support activities using the church settings as a vehicle, and use of personal trainer (of the same gender) if cost is not an issue. The presentation will focus on the perceived barriers and benefits of each proposed strategy outlined in the Guide to Community Preventive Services.