Motivators and Barriers to Joining a Lifestyle Change Program for Disease Prevention

Introduction: Lifestyle change programs (LCPs) are effective in helping people adopt healthy lifestyles and maintain healthy weight for disease prevention. LCPs are known to be underutilized, but the nuances surrounding women’s interest in using these programs for disease prevention need to be furth...

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Main Authors: Mandy L. Pershing, Lingzi Zhong, Anthony Ariotti, Kaitlyn Dwenger, Maddie McCarty, Phoebe Freer, Elissa M. Ozanne
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Mary Ann Liebert 2024-04-01
Series:Women's Health Reports
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Online Access:https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/whr.2024.0093
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author Mandy L. Pershing
Lingzi Zhong
Anthony Ariotti
Kaitlyn Dwenger
Maddie McCarty
Phoebe Freer
Elissa M. Ozanne
author_facet Mandy L. Pershing
Lingzi Zhong
Anthony Ariotti
Kaitlyn Dwenger
Maddie McCarty
Phoebe Freer
Elissa M. Ozanne
author_sort Mandy L. Pershing
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Lifestyle change programs (LCPs) are effective in helping people adopt healthy lifestyles and maintain healthy weight for disease prevention. LCPs are known to be underutilized, but the nuances surrounding women’s interest in using these programs for disease prevention need to be further explored so that enrollment and retention in these programs can be improved. Methods: The purpose of this study was to explore women’s interest in and knowledge of LCPs and identify their motivators and barriers to joining these types of programs through a survey. The survey was administered both online and in person. The survey had 22 questions and included demographics, medical and family history, knowledge and interest in LCPs, and barriers and motivators to participating in LCPs. Results: Participants in this study included 1,606 women from 40 to 74 years of age. We found that respondents had limited knowledge about the benefits of LCPs in reducing risks of specific diseases, such as breast cancer and osteoarthritis. Respondents reported low-to-moderate interest in LCPs. We found that their interest in these programs was negatively associated with their weekly physical activity and positively associated with their body mass index (BMI) and the number of reported barriers to joining LCPs. The most common barriers cited were cost, location, time, and too many meetings. In addition, we found that respondents who had or were unsure about their family history of diabetes were more interested in LCPs compared with individuals who had no family history of diabetes. We did not find significant differences in respondent interest in LCPs across ethnicity. Conclusions: Our study suggests that specific barriers to LCPs—including women’s knowledge of such programs—will need to be addressed before enrollment and retention in LCPs are increased.
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spelling doaj-art-2776d27cf846453c8f0221d35ff87cf82025-08-20T02:30:31ZengMary Ann LiebertWomen's Health Reports2688-48442024-04-015162463110.1089/whr.2024.0093Motivators and Barriers to Joining a Lifestyle Change Program for Disease PreventionMandy L. Pershing0Lingzi Zhong1Anthony Ariotti2Kaitlyn Dwenger3Maddie McCarty4Phoebe Freer5Elissa M. Ozanne6Department of Population Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.Department of Population Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.Department of Population Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Health, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.Department of Population Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.Department of Population Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.Introduction: Lifestyle change programs (LCPs) are effective in helping people adopt healthy lifestyles and maintain healthy weight for disease prevention. LCPs are known to be underutilized, but the nuances surrounding women’s interest in using these programs for disease prevention need to be further explored so that enrollment and retention in these programs can be improved. Methods: The purpose of this study was to explore women’s interest in and knowledge of LCPs and identify their motivators and barriers to joining these types of programs through a survey. The survey was administered both online and in person. The survey had 22 questions and included demographics, medical and family history, knowledge and interest in LCPs, and barriers and motivators to participating in LCPs. Results: Participants in this study included 1,606 women from 40 to 74 years of age. We found that respondents had limited knowledge about the benefits of LCPs in reducing risks of specific diseases, such as breast cancer and osteoarthritis. Respondents reported low-to-moderate interest in LCPs. We found that their interest in these programs was negatively associated with their weekly physical activity and positively associated with their body mass index (BMI) and the number of reported barriers to joining LCPs. The most common barriers cited were cost, location, time, and too many meetings. In addition, we found that respondents who had or were unsure about their family history of diabetes were more interested in LCPs compared with individuals who had no family history of diabetes. We did not find significant differences in respondent interest in LCPs across ethnicity. Conclusions: Our study suggests that specific barriers to LCPs—including women’s knowledge of such programs—will need to be addressed before enrollment and retention in LCPs are increased.https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/whr.2024.0093lifestyle change programsweight lossmotivatorsbarriersfamily history of diabetesethnicity
spellingShingle Mandy L. Pershing
Lingzi Zhong
Anthony Ariotti
Kaitlyn Dwenger
Maddie McCarty
Phoebe Freer
Elissa M. Ozanne
Motivators and Barriers to Joining a Lifestyle Change Program for Disease Prevention
Women's Health Reports
lifestyle change programs
weight loss
motivators
barriers
family history of diabetes
ethnicity
title Motivators and Barriers to Joining a Lifestyle Change Program for Disease Prevention
title_full Motivators and Barriers to Joining a Lifestyle Change Program for Disease Prevention
title_fullStr Motivators and Barriers to Joining a Lifestyle Change Program for Disease Prevention
title_full_unstemmed Motivators and Barriers to Joining a Lifestyle Change Program for Disease Prevention
title_short Motivators and Barriers to Joining a Lifestyle Change Program for Disease Prevention
title_sort motivators and barriers to joining a lifestyle change program for disease prevention
topic lifestyle change programs
weight loss
motivators
barriers
family history of diabetes
ethnicity
url https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/whr.2024.0093
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