Barriers to physical activity in visible minorities

Khawer, Maria (2021) Barriers to physical activity in visible minorities. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

There has been limited research on the role of visible minority status on health in Canada. In particular, the physical activity of visible minorities has not been extensively examined. Participation in physical activity is influenced by various biological, environmental, and social factors, and these factors act as either facilitators or barriers to physical activity participation. Previous research has shown that the main barriers to participation in physical activity identified by visible minorities have been the different ethnic and cultural norms and practices of participants. A cross-sectional, online survey was conducted to examine the barriers to physical activity in visible minorities living in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Participants included 75 visible minorities who participated in the web-based survey; 52 participants had complete data. A stepwise forward regression model was tested with total physical activity participation as the outcome variable. Sociodemographic, sociocultural, self-efficacy, and health-related variables were not significantly related to total physical activity levels. Only two barrier items were found to be significant and positively and highly correlated to physical activity: physical activity taking too much time away from taking care of family members (ß = 0.42, t = 2.538, p = .017) and not being talented in physical activity (ß = 0.339, t = 2.131, p = .042). This model was a significant fit (F₍₂,₅₆₎ = 5.870, p = . 007) and accounted for 24% of the variance. All other barrier items were found to have insignificant partial correlations and thus did not improve the model. Limitations of the study are discussed with emphasis recruitment of visible minorities and future research recommendations are provided. Key words: barriers, visible minorities, physical activity participation

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