Physical activity interventions in African American women: A recent qualitative review

Background: Daily physical activity is highly significant in reducing the risk of chronic diseases and improving quality of life. African American women are a high risk group when it comes to physical activity. Numerous barriers account for limited physical activity among African American women such as time, work and family responsibilities. The purpose of this article is to provide a recent (2009-2015) qualitative review of physical activity interventions among African American women.

Methods: A review of literature was conducted to identify physical activity interventions implemented among African American women published between the years of 2009-2015 in six databases: Academic Search Premier, CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE, PsychInfo, and SPORTDiscus. PRISMA guidelines were used in retrieving the articles. A total of 10 different interventions met the inclusion criteria.

Results: All of the studies were conducted in the United States, (Alabama, California, Illinois, Mississippi and South Carolina). The sample sizes of the studies were generally small with a mean sample size of 148 women. The ages ranged between 18 and 70 years. Walking, telephone-based counseling, workshops and healthy food choices were the various strategies used by the interventionists. Several of the studies reified behavioral theories such as the transtheoretical model (n=6), social cognitive theory (n=5), social comparison theory (n=1) and the social ecological theory (n=1).

Conclusion: Interventions that incorporated social support, spirituality, theory, and healthy diet and removed environmental barriers were more effective in promoting physical activity among African American women which future interventions can incorporate.