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Developing a couple typology: A qualitative study of couple dynamics around physical activity.

ABSTRACT: Partner-based social support can motivate engagement in physical activity (PA); however, couples approach exchanging support in different ways. This study aimed to elucidate the role of relationship dynamics in couple-based support for PA, with the goal of informing intervention strategies that will effectively leverage couple characteristics to increase support for PA. We conducted a qualitative study of couples who completed a longitudinal study of social support for PA. Participants were people with osteoarthritis who were not meeting PA recommendations and their cohabitating partners (n = 19 couples). We conducted in-depth, semistructured interviews and analyzed transcripts using narrative analysis. Participants were 76% non-Hispanic White and, on average, 62 years old. Themes in the data included (a) attitudes about working together to be more active (ranging from positive to negative) and (b) couples' narrative concordance (high to low shared reality). We developed a couple typology with four categories: "Working together works" (positive attitudes/high shared reality; n = 4 couples), "Doing our own thing" (range of attitudes with practical/preferential barriers to working together/high shared reality; n = 5 couples), "Conscious conflict" (discrepant attitudes/high shared reality; n = 5 couples), and "Different realities" (discrepant attitudes/low shared reality; n = 5 couples). We describe examples of each type. In a sample of 19 couples, there were observable differences in participants' attitudes about working together to be more active and in couples' shared reality around those attitudes. Future research should investigate implications for the efficacy of interventions and, if warranted, develop methods to identify couple types and offer appropriate intervention strategies.

SUBMITTER: Griesemer I

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7413183 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Developing a couple typology: A qualitative study of couple dynamics around physical activity.

Griesemer Ida I Phillips Ashley A Khan Cynthia C Bahorski Stephanie S Altpeter Mary M Callahan Leigh F LF Porter Laura S LS Rini Christine C

Translational behavioral medicine 20200801 3

Partner-based social support can motivate engagement in physical activity (PA); however, couples approach exchanging support in different ways. This study aimed to elucidate the role of relationship dynamics in couple-based support for PA, with the goal of informing intervention strategies that will effectively leverage couple characteristics to increase support for PA. We conducted a qualitative study of couples who completed a longitudinal study of social support for PA. Participants were peop ...[more]

PMID: 31220320

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Project description:BackgroundPhysical activity data provides important information on disease onset, progression, and treatment outcomes. Although analyzing physical activity data in conjunction with other clinical and microbiological data will lead to new insights crucial for improving human health, it has been hampered partly because of the large variations in the way the data are collected and presented.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to develop a Physical Activity Ontology (PACO) to support structuring and standardizing heterogeneous descriptions of physical activities.MethodsWe prepared a corpus of 1140 unique sentences collected from various physical activity questionnaires and scales as well as existing standardized terminologies and ontologies. We extracted concepts relevant to physical activity from the corpus using a natural language processing toolkit called Multipurpose Text Processing Tool. The target concepts were formalized into an ontology using Protégé (version 4). Evaluation of PACO was performed to ensure logical and structural consistency as well as adherence to the best practice principles of building an ontology. A use case application of PACO was demonstrated by structuring and standardizing 36 exercise habit statements and then automatically classifying them to a defined class of either sufficiently active or insufficiently active using FaCT++, an ontology reasoner available in Protégé.ResultsPACO was constructed using 268 unique concepts extracted from the questionnaires and assessment scales. PACO contains 225 classes including 9 defined classes, 20 object properties, 1 data property, and 23 instances (excluding 36 exercise statements). The maximum depth of classes is 4, and the maximum number of siblings is 38. The evaluations with ontology auditing tools confirmed that PACO is structurally and logically consistent and satisfies the majority of the best practice rules of ontology authoring. We showed in a small sample of 36 exercise habit statements that we could formally represent them using PACO concepts and object properties. The formal representation was used to infer a patient activity status category of sufficiently active or insufficiently active using the FaCT++ reasoner.ConclusionsAs a first step toward standardizing and structuring heterogeneous descriptions of physical activities for integrative data analyses, PACO was constructed based on the concepts collected from physical activity questionnaires and assessment scales. PACO was evaluated to be structurally consistent and compliant to ontology authoring principles. PACO was also demonstrated to be potentially useful in standardizing heterogeneous physical activity descriptions and classifying them into clinically meaningful categories that reflect adequacy of exercise.

Project description:OBJECTIVES:The health benefits of professional sport dissipate after retirement unless an active lifestyle is adopted, yet reasons for adopting an active or inactive lifestyle after retirement from sport are poorly understood. Elite cricket is all-encompassing, requiring a high volume of activity and unique physical demands. We aimed to identify influences on physical activity behaviours in active and insufficiently active former elite cricketers and provide practical strategies for promoting physical activity after cricket retirement. DESIGN:18 audio-recorded semistructured telephone interviews were performed. An inductive thematic approach was used and coding was iterative and data-driven facilitated by NVivo software. Themes were compared between sufficiently active and insufficiently active participants. SETTING:All participants formerly played professional cricket in the UK. PARTICIPANTS:Participants were male, mean age 57±11 (range 34-77) years, participated in professional cricket for 12±7 seasons and retired on average 23±9 years previously. Ten participants (56%) were classified as sufficiently active according to the UK Physical Activity Guidelines (moderate-intensity activity ?150?min per week or vigorous-intensity activity ?75?min per week). Eight participants did not meet these guidelines and were classified as insufficiently active. RESULTS:Key physical activity influences were time constraints, habit formation, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, physical activity preferences, pain/physical impairment and cricket coaching. Recommendations for optimising physical activity across the lifespan after cricket retirement included; prioritise physical activity, establish a physical activity plan prior to cricket retirement and don't take a break from physical activity, evaluate sources of physical activity motivation and incorporate into a physical activity plan, find multiple forms of satisfying physical activity that can be adapted to accommodate fluctuations in physical capabilities across the lifespan and coach cricket. CONCLUSIONS:Physically active and less active retired cricketers shared contrasting attributes that informed recommendations for promoting a sustainable, physically active lifestyle after retirement from professional cricket.

Project description:BackgroundCancer survivors are at an elevated risk for several negative health outcomes, but physical activity (PA) can decrease those risks. Unfortunately, adherence to PA recommendations among survivors is low. Fitness mobile apps have been shown to facilitate the adoption of PA in the general population, but there are limited apps specifically designed for cancer survivors. This population has unique needs and barriers to PA, and most existing PA apps do not address these issues. Moreover, incorporating user preferences has been identified as an important priority for technology-based PA interventions, but at present there is limited literature that serves to establish these preferences in cancer survivors. This is especially problematic given the high cost of app development and because the majority of downloaded apps fail to engage users over the long term.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to take a qualitative approach to provide practical insight regarding this population's preferences for the features and messages of an app to increase PA.MethodsA total of 35 cancer survivors each attended 2 focus groups; a moderator presented slide shows on potential app features and messages and asked open-ended questions to elicit participant preferences. All sessions were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Three reviewers independently conducted thematic content analysis on all transcripts, then organized and consolidated findings to identify salient themes.ResultsParticipants (mean age 63.7, SD 10.8, years) were mostly female (24/35, 69%) and mostly white (25/35, 71%). Participants generally had access to technology and were receptive to engaging with an app to increase PA. Themes identified included preferences for (1) a casual, concise, and positive tone, (2) tools for personal goal attainment, (3) a prescription for PA, and (4) an experience that is tailored to the user. Participants reported wanting extensive background data collection with low data entry burden and to have a trustworthy source translate their personal data into individualized PA recommendations. They expressed a desire for app functions that could facilitate goal achievement and articulated a preference for a more private social experience. Finally, results indicated that PA goals might be best established in the context of personally held priorities and values.ConclusionsMany of the desired features identified are compatible with both empirically supported methods of behavior change and the relative strengths of an app as a delivery vehicle for behavioral intervention. Participating cancer survivors' preferences contrasted with many current standard practices for mobile app development, including value-based rather than numeric goals, private socialization in small groups rather than sharing with broader social networks, and interpretation of PA data rather than merely providing numerical data. Taken together, these insights may help increase the acceptability of theory-based mHealth PA interventions in cancer survivors.

Dataset Information

Developing a couple typology: A qualitative study of couple dynamics around physical activity.

Publications

Developing a couple typology: A qualitative study of couple dynamics around physical activity.

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