You want me to do what? Formative research to develop messages about the DHHS Physical Activity Guidelines

Background: In the fall of 2008, the U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services will release Physical Activity Guidelines (PAG) for the nation. In response to previous findings that the public has been confused about physical activity recommendations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted research to clarify the public's understanding of and attitudes toward different physical activity recommendations.

Methods: Three research activities were conducted: 12 formative research focus groups with a general adult audience in two parts for the country; quantitative segmentation analyses of Porter Novelli's Styles™ datasets to identify and profile audience segments; and 12 focus groups in two parts of the country with adults 25-54 years old and adults 65 years and over to test possible concepts for communicating about physical activity recommendations.

Results: The segmentation analyses identified six distinct audience segments and provided detailed survey information about each segment. The two sets of focus groups identified motivators and barriers to, exposure to, and understanding and acceptance of physical activity recommendations, and reactions to proposed message concepts and positioning. They also identified physical activity concepts that were confusing to these audiences and that will need to be addressed in creating clear and effective messages for all adults. Differences by age, gender, and level of attention paid to media stories about physical activity were noted.

Discussion: The results of the research will be presented and implications for developing effective messages and materials for different audiences will be fully discussed.