Feasibility of Using Computer-Tailored and Internet-Based Interventions to Promote Physical Activity in Underserved Populations

Abstract

Objective: Computer-tailored and Internet-based interventions to promote physical activity behavior have shown some promise, but only few have been tested among African Americans. We examined the feasibility and efficacy of three 1-year, multiple contact physical activity interventions (Tailored Internet, Tailored Print, Standard

Web-Based Physical Activity Interventions for Older Adults: A Review

“…Out of fifteen studies, only five specifically aim to investigate the efficacy of the interventions in increasing the level of physical activity among participants [12,13,14,15,16]. Another six studies aim to investigate the effectiveness of design components in encouraging physical activity [17,18,19,20,21,22]. Albaina et al [17] for example aims to evaluate persuasive design principles and interaction metaphors in Flowie, a persuasive virtual coach that encourages seniors to walk more.…”

“…Silveira et al [21] focuses on the efficacy of motivational elements in ActiveLifestyle, whilst Hughes et al [20] on the efficacy of online consultation. Nyman et al [18], Pekmezi et al [19] and Amman et al [22] on the other hand specifically focus on the acceptability of tailored advice components in enhancing physical activity. Besides these, another three studies aim to identify user characteristics of the interventions.…”

“…Examples of objective measurements used in these identified studies include the use of RT3 accelerometer [12], ActiPED pedometer [17] or ankle/wrist-work accelerometer [16]. Subjective measurements used, on the other hand, include self-reported 7-Day Physical Activity Recall (7-D PAR) [12,19], Dutch Short Questionnaire to Assess Health Enhancing Physical Activity (SQUASH) [23,24,25] and validated Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) [14]. Table 1.…”

“…Self-report of SBT (Strength & Balance Training) [19] To examine the feasibility and efficacy of 3 physical activity interventions (Tailored Internet, Tailored Print, Standard Internet) among African American participants.…”

“…Six of these studies focus only on an older adult population [14,15,16,17,21,23], while three physical activity interventions developed for a general population [12,19,22]. The remaining six studies only described physical activity as sub-components of the interventions, as these studies involved interventions that were not mainly developed to enhance physical activity but to encourage weight loss [26], fall prevention [18], weight maintenance [13], general health assessment [20,24] and health behaviour change [25].…”