PERCEIVED ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND POLICY INFLUENCES ON PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN RURAL MIDWESTERN ADULTS

Rural adults engage in less physical activity and are less likely to meet activity recommendations than urban or suburban adults. Understanding determinants of this behavior can help design interventions for increasing activity levels. This series of studies examined the perceived determinants of physical activity in the social, physical, and policy environments of rural adults, using the following aims: Aim 1: A secondary analysis was conducted of a cross-sectional survey among 407 adults from two rural towns to examine determinants of physical activity separately by the domain in which this behavior occurs (i.e. home care, active living, etc.). Multiple regression analyses found that social characteristics (such as support from friends), policy attitudes (such as workplace incentives for exercise), and physical environmental factors (such as an activity-friendly neighborhood) were positively associated with total physical activity, active living, and sport. Barriers were negatively associated with these domains. No factors were associated with physical activity in work or home care. Physical activity determinants are specific to the domain of physical activity, and more research needs to be done to determine factors associated with physical activity in home or work