The Efficacy Of A Physical Activity Intervention Tailored To Rural Men

PURPOSE: Rural men are less active and at increased risk for inactivity-related chronic diseases than urban men. Despite reporting interest in physical activity programs, rural men are underrepresented in physical activity intervention studies. There are few physical activity interventions tailored to rural men. The aim of this study is to test the efficacy of a physical activity intervention tailored to rural men. METHODS: Rural men (38 enrolled) were recruited via ResearchMatch, community emails, and social media to participate in a 10-week, remotely delivered physical activity intervention. The intervention was informed by a needs assessment conducted among a nationwide sample of rural men. The intervention included 10 theory-based (Multi-Process Action Control) educational modules designed to target areas of interest including how to be active while at home and providing exercise demonstrations. Theoretical mechanisms of action, muscle strengthening behaviors and daily steps were measured at baseline and after the intervention. Steps were averaged over 7 days at baseline and post-intervention. Paired t-tests (continuous data) and McNemar test (categorical data) were used to assess changes from baseline to post-intervention. RESULTS: To date, 10 participants have completed the study with the remaining 28 scheduled to finish by January 2023. Preliminary results indicate there was a change in behavior regulation (baseline: 8.6 ± 3.4; post: 19.3 ± 9.8) and physical activity identity (baseline: 12.3 ± 3.4; post: 15.3 ± 4.8). There were no participants engaging in strength training at baseline, but this increased to 7 participants engaging in strength training after the intervention. The number of steps taken did not significantly increase from baseline to post-intervention (8503 ± 4452 to 8911 ± 2742). Full statistical analysis will be completed at the conclusion of the assessments. CONCLUSIONS: While the sample started with “somewhat active” step counts, they did not engage in strength training, a key component of the physical activity guidelines. These preliminary findings indicate that our tailored intervention has the potential to improve physical activity behavior, but additional investigation is necessary to examine ways to improve effectiveness, specifically at increasing step counts.