Parent Perceptions of a Children's Physical Activity Initiative in a Rural Community

Introduction

In 2008, a coalition of community leaders and parents sought to increase access to physical activity opportunities for residents in a rural Kentucky community. To date, a variety of year-round programs conducted at borrowed spaces from local schools have targeted children, utilizing the strategy to first engage children as a way to extend behavior change to other members of the community. This study assessed the influence of child participation in physical activity programs on parent physical activity, and to determine potential methods of intervention to increase adult physical activity in a rural community.

Methods

Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with parents of children who participated in the physical activity programs. Constructs from social cognitive theory and the social ecological model provided sensitizing concepts that were investigated during data collection. Data were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed using a grounded theoretical approach.

Results

Findings revealed increased community awareness surrounding physical activity following program implementation. In addition to increased physical activity levels, children experienced social growth through program participation. Parents and children encouraged and motivated each other to be physically active, though younger children initiated joint physical activity more often than adolescents. Barriers to adult physical activity, including a lack of community spaces for families to be physically active together, were identified.

Conclusions/Discussion

These findings indicated a bidirectional influence between parent and child physical activity behaviors and the need for community recreational facilities where both children and adults can be physically active together.