Pilot Testing an Innovative Physical Activity Intervention for Parents

The intervention aims to increase physical activity, an important health behavior, in a high-risk sample (i.e., Black and Hispanic/Latino mothers). As physical activity impacts risk for obesity and related chronic diseases (Type II diabetes, heart disease, etc.), national guidelines recommend that adults engage in 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity per week. More than half of adults in Rhode Island do not meet this recommendation, and racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately burdened by obesity, and often exhibit suboptimal physical activity-related behaviors. Racial/ethnic minority mothers may be at particularly high risk for obesity, not just because of weight gain in the perinatal period, but because the transition to parenthood, often accompanied by sleep disruption and decreased physical activity, is a critical window for adult health and can shape health trajectories in midlife. Further, mothers often report too many responsibilities and prioritizing their children's needs as barriers to engaging in more physical activity. Racial/ethnic minority mothers are especially likely to report lack of time as a barrier to being more physically active. Interventions are therefore needed that address specific barriers among this high-risk population. The study builds on the investigators' previous work by adapting an evidence-based theory guided physical activity intervention to be implemented in a community setting mothers regularly spend time for their children's extracurricular activities, circumventing barriers commonly cited by racial/ethnic minority mothers (e.g., other responsibilities, time barriers, transportation, and childcare). They will partner with a local youth sports organization to adapt and deliver a physical activity intervention to mothers during practice.

The investigators aim to convene a community advisory board of coaches and parents to enhance participant acceptability and work through any feasibility issues with implementation. The community advisory board will include coaches and mothers from our partner organization, the local youth football and cheerleading organization. The investigators will engage the community advisory board to partner with us in adapting and refining the intervention. Prior to the intervention, the community advisory board will inform the structure of the in-person physical activity sessions. They will continue to meet with the community advisory board over the study period to gain feedback around implementation and inform changes for a subsequent grant a fully powered randomized controlled trial.

The second aim is to conduct an open pilot trial of the physical activity intervention administered to mothers during their children's sports practices. The investigators aim to recruit 45 mothers to participate in a single arm pre-test, post-test design pilot study of the intervention, which will last for 8 weeks. They plan to demonstrate feasibility of recruitment, retention, and data collection procedures, and acceptability of the intervention using specified benchmarks. All participants will complete exit surveys at the end of the intervention, with 15 participants invited to also complete an in depth interview. The investigators will also examine within-person changes in minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity over time (e.g., from baseline to intervention end (8-weeks), and at 1-month follow up), as well as intervention dose effects (e.g., number of physical activity sessions attended/week) on change in minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity.