Psychological and Social Factors related to Physical Activities and Everyday Activities among South Asian High School Girls in the Toronto Area

Background: South Asian girls have reported low levels of physical activity (PA) compared to other Canadian adolescents. Potential explanations include omissions in existing PA measures that don’t capture all types of PA, and factors discouraging PA in this group. Purpose: This study examined the quality and quantity of PA; compared PA participation using two self-report methods; and, examined psychosocial and cultural factors associated with PA in adolescent South Asian girls. Methods: 113 participants were recruited from community sources in Toronto. Data were collected using a structured electronic diary (3 weekdays; 2 weekend days) and a self-administered online questionnaire that included the Leisure Time Exercise questionnaire. Diaries were content analyzed and compared to PA reports in the questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses identified factors associated with PA. Results: Diaries revealed that when a range of PA types were captured, like walking activities and chores, PA levels were similar to representative data for Canadian youth. 92% of respondents reported at least 30 minutes of PA per day across their diary entries. However, 19% did not report any PA at the vigorous intensity level, and PA levels were lowest on weekends. Reports of PA in the diary and questionnaire were inconsistent, with considerably higher levels of PA reported in the questionnaire. Enrolment in physical education, enjoyment, control, fewer barriers, and social provisions were associated with greater PA. Conclusions: Physical activity levels were low, but results did not suggest that South Asian girls are more vulnerable to low levels of activity compared to other Canadian girls. Findings from the diary suggest that PA questionnaires would benefit from including a broader range of activity types with a variety of walking activities, and structured reflections to enhance data quality and minimize the potential for over-reporting. PA levels may be increased through mandatory physical education, curricula that emphasize how girls may engage in vigorous activities outside of classes, and changes to neighbourhood environments that would promote walking.Ph

The influence of cultural values on physical activity among female adolescents from the Indian diaspora

This study investigated how physical activity (PA) patterns among female adolescents from the Indian diaspora have been influenced by Indian traditions, beliefs and values. This research was conceived from a model of adolescent PA from Welk, Wood and Morss (2003), who studied the role of parents on PA using Social Cognitive Theory, and from a set of cultural values from Unger, Ritt-Olsen, Teran, Huang, Hoffman and Palmer (2002), who studied health risk behaviours. As parents are generally the foremost educators of cultural knowledge, their potentially concurrent influence on PA was a key area of interest for this project. The main research question was: What role do personal, peer, parental and cultural attitudes towards PA have on actual PA behaviour among female adolescents in Canada from the Indian diaspora? Six girls aged 15-18 participated in an individual interview followed by a focus group. While each one of them made distinct contributions to this research, there were shared experiences. PA was considered to be important for physical and mental health. Participants who felt strong affinity for Indian culture also linked PA to spiritual health; this theme of spirituality is a unique contribution to adolescent PA literature. Among all participants, PA was thought to strengthen relationships with family. Parents supported physical activities by playing games with their daughters and also provided encouragement and filled facilitative roles. When discussing Indian culture, participants indicated that males and females were raised to fulfill different roles: females were raised to become wives and mothers while males were taught to be independent. As expected, differentiated gender roles also emerged while discussing sporting behaviours. In general, boys were deemed more aggressive, assertive and competitive in PA; girls were perceived to promote fun-based learning environments. Popular media was cited as a major influence in differentially shaping boys’ and girls’ physiques. This study gave voice to a group of adolescent girls from the Indian diaspora while integrating existing literature on personal and parental attitudes towards physical activity with cultural values. Future research should address concepts of spiritual health and family values among adolescents from other diasporic subcultures in Canada.Education, Faculty ofKinesiology, School ofGraduat

Developing a coordinated Canadian post-secondary surveillance system: a Delphi survey to identify measurement priorities for the Canadian Campus Wellbeing Survey (CCWS)

Background: Interventions that promote health and wellbeing among young adults are needed. Such interventions, however, require measurement tools that support intervention planning, monitoring and evaluation. The primary purpose of this study is to describe the process in developing a framework for a Canadian post-secondary health surveillance tool known as the Canadian Campus Wellbeing Survey (CCWS). Methods: Nineteen health service providers or mental health experts from 5 Canadian provinces participated in a 3-round Delphi survey by email and an in-person roundtable meeting to identify wellbeing and health behavior measurement priorities and indicators for the CCWS. Results: The final CCWS framework consisted of 9 core sections: mental health assets, student experience, mental health deficits, health service utilization/help seeking, physical health/health behaviors, academic achievement, substance use, nutrition, and sexual health behavior. Panelists generally agreed on a set of indicators, and reached consensus for at least one indicator per core section. Conclusion: This CCWS framework is the first step in developing a common surveillance mechanism tailored to the Canadian postsecondary context. Future work will include online consultation with health service providers from a broader range of post-secondary institutions, an in-person meeting with research and measurement experts to finalize survey items, and formative testing. The CCWS will play a valuable role in developing population health initiatives targeting the increasing number of young Canadians attending postsecondary institutions.Education, Faculty ofOther UBCNon UBCKinesiology, School ofReviewedFacult

Perceived personal importance of exercise and fears of re-injury: a longitudinal study of psychological factors related to activity after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Abstract Background Psychological perceptions are increasingly being recognized as important to recovery and rehabilitation post-surgery. This research longitudinally examined perceptions of the personal importance of exercise and fears of re-injury over a three-year period post anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Stability and change in psychological perceptions was examined, as well as the association of perceptions with time spent in different types of physical activity, including walking, household activities, and lower and higher risk for knee injury activities. Methods Participants were athletes, 18–40 years old, who underwent ACL reconstruction for first-time ACL injuries. They were recruited from a tertiary care centre in Toronto, Canada. Participants completed interviewer-administered questionnaires pre-surgery and at years one, two and three, postoperatively. Questions assessed demographics, pain, functional limitations, perceived personal importance of exercise, fear of re-injury and physical activities (i.e., walking; household activities; lower risk for knee injury activities; higher risk for knee injury activities). Analyses included fixed-effect longitudinal modeling to examine the association of a fear of re-injury and perceived personal importance of exercise and changes in these perceptions with the total hours spent in the different categories of physical activities, controlling for other factors. Results Baseline participants were 77 men and 44 women (mean age = 27.6 years; SD = 6.2). At year three, 78.5% of participants remained in the study with complete data. Fears of re-injury decreased over time while personal importance of exercise remained relatively stable. Time spent in walking and household activities did not significantly change with ACL injury or surgery. Time spent in lower and higher risk of knee injury physical activity did not return to pre-injury levels at three years, post-surgery. Greater time spent in higher risk of knee injury activities was predicted by decreases in fears of re-injury and by greater personal importance of exercise. Conclusions This study highlights not only fears of re-injury, which has been documented in previous studies, but also the perceived personal importance of exercise in predicting activity levels following ACL reconstructive surgery. The findings can help in developing interventions to aid individuals make decisions about physical activities post knee injury and surgery

Étude qualitative sur les perceptions à propos de la capacité des organisations à promouvoir l’activité physique au Canada et à propos de l’influence de ParticipACTION cinq ans après sa relance

Introduction. ParticipACTION est un organisme canadien de communication et de marketing social faisant la promotion de l’activité physique qui a été relancé en 2007. Notre étude visait à évaluer de manière qualitative le pouvoir d’action des organisations canadiennes en matière de promotion de l’activité physique ainsi que l’influence de ParticipACTION sur ce pouvoir cinq ans après sa relance. Méthodologie. Des entrevues téléphoniques semi-structurées ont été réalisées auprès de 44 informateurs clés sélectionnés par échantillonnage dirigé. Les informateurs étaient représentatifs d’organismes nationaux, provinciaux et locaux ayant un mandat en matière de promotion de l’activité physique. Les données tirées des entrevues ont été analysées par thèmes. Résultats. Depuis la relance de ParticipACTION, le pouvoir d’action en matière de partenariats et de collaborations ainsi que le climat général dans le domaine de la promotion de l’activité physique se sont améliorés. Bien que diverses contraintes financières aient réduit la capacité des organisations à remplir leur mandat, leur impact a été atténué par des facteurs internes comme la présence d’employés compétents et les partenariats ainsi que par des facteurs externes comme les progrès technologiques dans les communications et les échanges d’information. Les avis étaient mitigés en ce qui concerne la contribution de ParticipACTION à l’amélioration de ce pouvoir d’action. Bien que ParticipACTION ait attiré l’attention sur l’inactivité, sa contribution a surtout été perçue comme complémentaire aux activités déjà en place. Certains organismes ont considéré que la relance de ParticipACTION avait accru la compétition pour le financement et l’accès aux médias populaires, tandis que d’autres étaient d’avis qu’il s’agissait d’une opportunité d’établir des partenariats officiels pour des campagnes de marketing social et de tirer parti des réalisations et de la réputation de ParticipACTION. Conclusion. Selon les participants, le pouvoir d’action des organisations en matière de promotion de l’activité physique au Canada a augmenté depuis 2007 de façon subtile mais significative, en raison d’un climat favorable à la promotion de l’activité physique, de la présence d’employés compétents et des technologies d’échange d’information. La contribution de ParticipACTION à l’amélioration de ce pouvoir a été jugée faible

Perceptions of organizational capacity to promote physical activity in Canada and ParticipACTION’s influence five years after its relaunch: a qualitative study

Introduction: Poor diet quality has been shown to increase the risk of common chronic diseases that can negatively impact quality of life and burden the healthcare system. Canada’s Food Guide evidence-based recommendations provide dietary guidance aimed at increasing diet quality. Compliance with Canada’s Food Guide can be assessed with the Canadian Healthy Eating Index (C-HEI), a diet quality score. The recently designed Canadian Diet History Questionnaire II (C-DHQ II), a comprehensive food frequency questionnaire could be used to estimate the C-HEI in Canadian populations with the addition of food group equivalents (representing Canada’s Food Guide servings) to the C-DHQ II nutrient database. We describe methods developed to augment the C-DHQ II nutrient database to estimate the C-HEI. Methods: Food group equivalents were created using food and nutrient data from existing published food and nutrient databases (e.g. the Canadian Community Health Survey — Cycle 2.2 Nutrition [2004]). The variables were then added to the C-DHQ II companion nutrient database. C-HEI scores were determined and descriptive analyses conducted for participants who completed the C-DHQ II in a cross-sectional Canadian study. Results: The mean (standard deviation) C-HEI score in this sample of 446 adults aged 20 to 83 was 64.4 (10.8). Women, non-smokers, and those with more than high school education had statistically significant higher C-HEI scores than men, smokers and those with high school diplomas or less. Conclusion: The ability to assess C-HEI using the C-DHQ II facilitates the study of diet quality and health outcomes in Canada

ParticipACTION after 5 years of relaunch: a quantitative survey of Canadian organizational awareness and capacity regarding physical activity initiatives

Introduction: ParticipACTION is a Canadian physical activity communications and social marketing organization relaunched in 2007. This study assesses the capacity of Canadian organizations to adopt, implement, and promote physical activity initiatives. The four objectives were to compare findings from baseline (2008) and follow-up (2013) with respect to: (1) awareness of ParticipACTION; (2) organizational capacity to adopt, implement and promote physical activity initiatives; (3) potential differences in capacity based on organizational size, sector, and mandate; and (4) assess perceptions of ParticipACTION five years after relaunch. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, representatives from local, provincial/territorial, and national organizations completed an online survey assessing capacity to adopt, implement, and promote physical activity. Descriptive statistics and one-way analyses of variance were conducted to examine the objectives. Results: Response rate for opening an email survey invitation and consenting to participate was 40.6% (685/1688) and 540 surveys were completed. Awareness of ParticipACTION increased from 54.6% at baseline to 93.9% at follow-up (Objective 1). Findings at both baseline and follow-up reflected good organizational capacity to adopt, implement and promote physical activity (Objective 2) although some varied by organizational sector and mandate (Objective 3). Most respondents reported that ParticipACTION provided positive leadership (65.3%), but there was less agreement regarding ParticipACTION’s facilitation of infrastructure (44.0%) or organizational will/motivation (47.1%)(Objective 4). Conclusion: Canadian organizations continue to report having good capacity to adopt, implement, and promote physical activity. There was no discernible change in capacity indicators five years after ParticipACTION’s relaunch although its broader contribution to the physical activity sector was endorsed

ParticipACTION, cinq ans après sa relance : enquête quantitative sur son rayonnement et sur le pouvoir d'action des organisations au Canada en matière d’initiatives consacrées à l’activité physique

Introduction. ParticipACTION est un organisme canadien relancé en 2007 dédié à la communication et au marketing social en matière d’activité physique. Cette étude porte sur le pouvoir d'action des organismes canadiens dans l'adoption, la mise en oeuvre et la promotion des initiatives en ce domaine. Nos objectifs étaient de comparer les résultats de base (2008) avec les résultats de suivi (2013) en ce qui concerne (1) la connaissance de ParticipACTION, (2) la capacité d'un organisme à adopter, à mettre en oeuvre et à promouvoir des initiatives d’activité physique et (3) les différences potentielles en matière de pouvoir d'action d'une organisation en fonction de sa taille, de son secteur et de son mandat ainsi que (4) d’évaluer la perception de ParticipACTION cinq ans après sa relance. Méthodologie. Dans le cadre de cette étude transversale, des représentants d’organismes locaux, provinciaux, territoriaux et nationaux ont rempli un questionnaire en ligne visant à évaluer la capacité de leur organisme à adopter, à mettre en oeuvre et à promouvoir des initiatives d’activité physique. Nous avons utilisé des méthodes de statistique descriptive et des analyses de variance à un facteur pour répondre à nos objectifs. Résultats. Le taux de réponse correspondant aux personnes ayant ouvert le courriel d’invitation à répondre au sondage et ayant consenti à y participer était de 40,6 % (685/1 688). Au total, 540 questionnaires de sondage ont été remplis. Le taux de connaissance de ParticipACTION, qui se chiffrait à 54,6 % lors de l’étude initiale, avait atteint 93,9 % au moment du suivi (objectif 1). Tant les résultats initiaux que les résultats de suivi ont fait état d’un pouvoir d'action important des organismes dans l'adoption, la mise en oeuvre et la promotion d'initiatives d’activité physique (objectif 2), avec cependant de légères variations en fonction du secteur et du mandat de chaque organisme (objectif 3). La plupart des répondants ont affirmé que ParticipACTION exerçait un leadership positif (65,3 %), mais les avis étaient plus partagés quant à son rôle de conseil aux infrastructures (44,0 %) ou encore de soutien à la motivation organisationnelle (47,1 %) (objectif 4). Conclusion. Les organismes canadiens font marque d’un pouvoir d'action important en matière d'adoption, de mise en oeuvre et de promotion d'initiatives d’activité physique. Cependant, cinq ans après la relance de ParticipACTION et malgré une meilleure reconnaissance de sa contribution globale au secteur de l’activité physique, aucun changement notable n’a été relevé dans les indicateurs mesurant le pouvoir d'action des organismes