SALLIS, J. F., J. J. PROCHASKA, and W. C. TAYLOR. A review of correlates of physical activity of children and adolescents. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 32, No. 5, pp. 963‐975, 2000. Background: Understanding the factors that influence physical activity can aid the design of more effective interventions. Previous reviews of correlates of youth physical activity have produced conflicting results. Methods: A comprehensive review of correlates of physical activity was conducted, and semiquantitative results were summarized separately for children (ages 3‐12) and adolescents (ages 13‐18). The 108 studies evaluated 40 variables for children and 48 variables for adolescents. Results: About 60% of all reported associations with physical activity were statistically significant. Variables that were consistently associated with children’s physical activity were sex (male), parental overweight status, physical activity preferences, intention to be active, perceived barriers (inverse), previous physical activity, healthy diet, program/facility access, and time spent outdoors. Variables that were consistently associated with adolescents’ physical activity were sex (male), ethnicity (white), age (inverse), perceived activity competence, intentions, depression (inverse), previous physical activity, community sports, sensation seeking, sedentary after school and on weekends (inverse), parent support, support from others, sibling physical activity, direct help from parents, and opportunities to exercise. Conclusion: These consistently related variables should be confirmed in prospective

A review of correlates of physical activity of children and adolescents.

(2000). Assessment of Physical Activity by Self-Report: Status, Limitations, and Future Directions. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport: Vol. 71, No. sup2, pp. 1-14.

Assessment of physical activity by self-report: status, limitations, and future directions.

CONTEXT. Environmental factors are suggested to play a major role in physical activity (PA) and other obesity-related behaviors, yet there is no national research on the relationship between disparity in access to recreational facilities and additional impact on PA and overweight patterns in US adolescents. 

OBJECTIVE. In a nationally representative cohort, we sought to assess the geographic and social distribution of PA facilities and how disparity in access might underlie population-level PA and overweight patterns. 

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS. Residential locations of US adolescents in wave I (1994–1995) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 20745) were geocoded, and a 8.05-km buffer around each residence was drawn (N = 42857 census-block groups [19% of US block groups]). PA facilities, measured by national databases and satellite data, were linked with Geographic Information Systems technology to each respondent. Logistic-regression analyses tested the relationship of PA-related facilities with block-group socioeconomic status (SES) (at the community level) and the subsequent association of facilities with overweight and PA (at the individual level), controlling for population density. 

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES. Outcome measures were overweight (BMI ≥ 95th percentile of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Center for Health Statistics growth curves) and achievement of ≥5 bouts per week of moderate-vigorous PA. 

RESULTS. Higher-SES block groups had a significantly greater relative odds of having 1 or more facilities. Low-SES and high-minority block groups were less likely to have facilities. Relative to zero facilities per block group, an increasing number of facilities was associated with decreased overweight and increased relative odds of achieving ≥5 bouts per week of moderate-vigorous PA. 

CONCLUSIONS. Lower-SES and high-minority block groups had reduced access to facilities, which in turn was associated with decreased PA and increased overweight. Inequality in availability of PA facilities may contribute to ethnic and SES disparities in PA and overweight patterns.

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Inequality in the Built Environment Underlies Key Health Disparities in Physical Activity and Obesity

https://nacto.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Infrastructure-Programs-and-Policies-to-Increase-Bicycling-An-International-Review.pdf

Infrastructure, programs, and policies to increase bicycling: An international review

Protection motivation theory (PMT) was introduced by Rogers in 1975 and has since been widely adopted as a framework for the prediction of and intervention in health-related behavior. However. PMT remains the only major cognitive model of behavior not to have been the subject of a meta-analytic review. A quantitative review of PMT is important to assess its overall utility as a predictive model and to establish which of its variables would be most useful to address health-education interventions. The present paper provides a comprehensive introduction to PMT and its application to health-related behavior, together with a quantitative review of the applications of PMT to health-related intentions and behavior. The associations between threat- and coping-appraisal variables and intentions, and all components of the model and behavior were assessed both by meta-analysis and by vote-count procedures. Threat- and coping-appraisal components of PMT were found to be useful in the prediction of health-related intentions. The model was found to be useful in predicting concurrent behavior, but of less utility in predicting future behavior. The coping-appraisal component of the model was found to have greater predictive validity than was the threat-appraisal component. The main findings are discussed in relation to theory and research on social cognition models. The importance of the main findings to health education is also discussed, and future research directions are suggested.

Prediction and Intervention in Health-Related Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review of Protection Motivation Theory

Effect of pelvic muscle exercise on transient incontinence during pregnancy and after birth.

Changes in physical activity beliefs and behaviors of boys and girls across the transition to junior high school

BACKGROUND: Various factors in hospitals can adversely affect patients' outcomes, including faulty communication between nurses and physicians. Whether specific communication elements (timeliness, accuracy, openness, understanding) can influence adverse outcomes is unknown. OBJECTIVES: To determine the relationships between patients' outcomes and (1) nurses' perceptions of elements of communication between nurses and physicians and (2) characteristics of the practice environment. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey design was used. Information on ventilator-associated pneumonia, bloodstream infection associated with a central catheter, and pressure ulcers was collected from 25 intensive care units in southeastern Michigan. Simultaneously, 462 nurses in those units (response rate, 53.3%) were anonymously surveyed. The Conditions for Work Effectiveness Questionnaire-II and the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index were used to measure characteristics of the practice environment. The Intensive Care Unit Nurse-Physician Questionnaire was used to measure communication between nurses and physicians. Statistical tests included correlation and multiple regression. Analyses were conducted at the unit level. RESULTS: Unit response rates varied from 6% to 100%. Together, variability in understanding communication and capacity utilization were predictive of 27% of the variance in ventilator-associated pneumonia. Timeliness of communication was inversely related to pressure ulcers (r= -0.38; P=.06), and workplace empowerment and scores on the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation III were positive predictors of ventilator-associated pneumonia (R(2)=0.36; P=.005). CONCLUSIONS: Not all elements of communication were related to the selected adverse outcomes. The connection between characteristics of the practice environment at the unit level and adverse outcomes remains elusive.

Intensive care units, communication between nurses and physicians, and patients' outcomes.

Current recommendations for designing bicycle facilities are most often based on experience rather than on findings from scientific inquiry This study pools cyclists' opinions on environmental design issues, substantiating experts' knowledge about designs for cycling environments The study examines the influence of personal characteristics, travel resources, and travel constraints on cyclists' environmental preferences, evaluations of cycling conditions, and decisions to bicycle for transportation Questionnaires were distributed to 552 cyclists at four recreational bicycle tours in Michigan during the summer of 1992 Analysis of variance and correlations were used to investigate relationships of interest Cyclists indicated their preferences for different types of cycling facilities and the importance that they placed on environmental factors such as traffic volume and surface quality when choosing cycling routes Age was positively correlated with preference for on-road facilities (striped bike lanes, wide curb lanes), with importance placed on surface quality, scenery, and bike safety education Age was negatively correlated with preference for bike paths separated from the roadway Safety, scenery, terrain, and bike safety education were more important to women on average than to men As expected, cycling experience was negatively correlated with preference for off-road facilities and concerns about safety, traffic, and terrain Bike safety education was rated almost as high as the need for bike lanes, to improve community cycling conditions Thirty-two percent of the cyclists surveyed commute by bicycle; 68 percent run errands by bicycle Commute distance was strongly associated with the likelihood and frequency of commuting by bicycle

Environmental and travel preferences of cyclists.

Objectives. To compare a walking exercise to a stretching exercise during pregnancy in high-risk women who were sedentary and had previously experienced preeclampsia. Methods. A randomized clinical trial of the effects of the two types of physical exercises was conducted between November 2001 and July 2006 in Washtenaw County, Michigan. Both groups engaged in the assigned exercise five times a week until the end of pregnancy. Results. Women were randomized to either the walking group (n = 41) or the stretching group (n = 38). The walkers exercised an average of 36 (SD, 6) minutes at 18 weeks gestation, 34 (SD, 7) minutes at 28 weeks gestation, and 31 (SD, 12) minutes at the last week of the intervention. On average, they exercised within target heart rate ranges 35% (SD, 32%) at 18 weeks gestation, 22% (SD, 25%) at 28 weeks gestation, and 17% (SD, 25%) at the last week of the intervention. The stretching group engaged in stretching exercises following a 40-minutes videotape. On average, the walking group ...

Cathy L. Antonakos

Papers

Effect of pelvic muscle exercise on transient incontinence during pregnancy and after birth.

Changes in physical activity beliefs and behaviors of boys and girls across the transition to junior high school

Intensive care units, communication between nurses and physicians, and patients' outcomes.

Environmental and travel preferences of cyclists.

A comparison of walking versus stretching exercises to reduce the incidence of preeclampsia: a randomized clinical trial.