Associations between mind-body intervention attendance, psychosocial outcomes, physical activity and sitting time among racial/ethnic minorities and rural Appalachian adults
Open Access
- Author:
- Bhuiyan, Nishat Anjum
- Graduate Program:
- Kinesiology
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- June 05, 2018
- Committee Members:
- Scherezade K. Mama, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Melissa Jean Bopp, Committee Member
Danielle Symons Downs, Committee Member - Keywords:
- intervention adherence
physical activity
disparities
rural
racial/ethnic minorities - Abstract:
- Compared to the general U.S. population, racial/ethnic minorities and rural Appalachian residents face lower rate rates of physical activity (PA), higher prevalence of physical inactivity, and increased rates of morbidity and mortality, contributing to rural racial/ethnic health disparities. Culturally-tailored mind-body interventions may address these disparities, however, little is known regarding the optimal level of intervention adherence for benefits among these hard-to reach populations. Purpose: This study aimed to (1) determine the associations between mind-body intervention attendance and changes in psychosocial outcomes (i.e., stress, depression, anxiety, positive and negative affect, and spirituality), PA, and sitting time (ST), explore differences in changes in outcomes between low attenders and high attenders and assess whether a dose-response relationship exists, and, (2) determine the associations between changes in psychosocial outcomes and changes in PA and ST over time. Methods: African American adults in Houston, TX (n=26) and non-metro residents in State College, PA (n=46) participated in a culturally-adapted mind-body intervention to increase PA and reduce stress. Participants (N=72) completed PA and psychosocial questionnaires and accelerometer protocols at baseline (T1) and post-intervention (T2) and attended 16 mind-body sessions over eight weeks. Attendance was collected at intervention sessions via sign-in sheets. Results: Linear regression analyses indicate that increased session attendance was significantly associated with increased spirituality (β=.168, p=.013). Repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated significant: 1) differences in changes in depressive symptoms over time between low and high attenders (F(1,55)=4.746, p=0.034), with low attenders experiencing greater decreases in depressive symptoms, 2) differences in changes in positive affect between attendance group and study site (F(1,53)= 7.839, p=.007), 3) differences in changes in spirituality by number of sessions attended (F(12,31)= 2.393, p=0.025), and, 4) differences in changes in perceived stress (F(10,33)= 3.679, p=0.002) and spirituality (F(9,31)= 2.891, p=0.013) by number of sessions attended and between study sites. Regression analyses also found that increased self-reported walking was associated with increased perceived stress (β=.298, p=.030). Conclusions: Findings suggest that participants attending more sessions experienced greater increases in spirituality, thus, improving intervention attendance rates may increase the potency of mind-body interventions for increasing spirituality. Although an optimal number of mind-body sessions for improving psychosocial outcomes, increasing physical activity and decreasing sitting time was not determined, findings provided direction for future research which can be used to inform the broader implementation efforts of culturally-tailored mind-body interventions among racial/ethnic minorities and rural Appalachian residents.