222350 Physical activity at a Hispanic-serving community college

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Timothy K. Behrens, PhD , Beth-El College of Nursing & Health Sciences, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO
Vanessa J. Harbour, PhD, MPH , Department of Health Promotion & Education, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Lisa Hines, ScD , Department of Biology, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO
Limited research has been published on racial/ethnic differences in PA at community colleges. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe the PA profile at a Hispanic–serving community college and to explore the association between certain demographic characteristics and adherence to current PA recommendations. Demographic and PA data were collected at Pueblo Community College; a designated Hispanic-serving institution in southern Colorado. PA was determined using questions from the BRFSS for moderate and vigorous PA, classifying respondents into one of three categories: 1) meeting PA recommendation, 2) insufficiently active, or 3) inactive. Descriptive statistics were calculated for variables of interest. Polytomous logistic regression was utilized to examine the association of demographic variables with PA classification. Among the 463 respondents (Hispanic: n = 145; Caucasian: n = 318), the majority were between 25-50 years of age, female, and full-time. Approximately 30% of respondents were inactive (Hispanic: 26.8%; Caucasian: 32.7%), 28.1% were insufficiently active (Hispanic: 24.1%; Caucasian: 30.5%), and 41.4% were meeting PA recommendations (Hispanic: 49.1%; Caucasian: 36.8%). In addition to these observed ethnic differences, males were less likely to meet PA recommendations (OR: 0.52; 95% CI: 0.34 – 0.82), whereas reporting full-time status inferred more than a 2-fold likelihood of meeting PA recommendations. (OR: 2.21; 95% CI: 1.33 – 3.68). These data offer new insights into racial/ethnic PA differences in a unique population.

Learning Areas:
Diversity and culture
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning
Public health or related education
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe physical activity profile of community-college attendees 2. Differentiate physical activity levels between Hispanic and Caucasian participants

Keywords: Latino, Physical Activity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the PI on this project and I am trained in physical activity and public health.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.