Date of Conferral
2016
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
School
Nursing
Advisor
Sue Bell
Abstract
Despite knowledge regarding the need for regular physical exercise, little is known about the most effective ways to encourage and maintain regular physical activity among primary care patients. New approaches to education about and support of physical activity are needed for everyone, but especially for groups susceptible to diseases related to sedentary lifestyles. This project evaluated a web-based educational intervention guided by the health belief model to address the lack of regular physical activity among 25 Hispanic patients in a South Florida clinical practice. The physically inactive patients were identified through the clinic's electronic medical records and consented to participate. Quantitative data were obtained before and 8-weeks after the education using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. The data were analyzed to find the median weekly minutes for each domain on the questionnaire (work domain, active transportation domain, domestic and garden domain, and leisure domain). Participants' median scores increased after the intervention for moderate physical activity at work (1440 minutes to 2400 minutes), vigorous physical activity during leisure time (0 minutes to 1920 minutes), and walking for transportation (0 minutes to 792 minutes). Inferential statistics were not employed, so the statistical significance of these increases were not determined. The social changes that may occur from wider implementation of this educational approach include decreased disability and decreased health care costs for patients at risk of developing diseases linked to a sedentary lifestyle.
Recommended Citation
Rodriguez Elias, Rene Beltran, "Evaluation of Intervention to Increase Exercise Among a Group of Hispanic Patients in South Florida" (2016). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 2876.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/2876
