Biomedical subjects

Ronald C Plotnikoff

Publications and source records attributed to Ronald C Plotnikoff.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2004

Knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to climate change in Alberta, Canada: implications for public health policy and practice.

Climate change has received recent extensive media attention (e.g., Kyoto Protocol) and is currently on the international public health agenda. The purpose of this study was to survey knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to climate change in the province of Alberta, Canada. A random sample of 600 Alberta households, using proportional quotas based on the Canada Census of the Alberta population, was surveyed on knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to climate change using a computer-assisted telephone interviewing protocol. Albertans are highly concerned, particularly about health problems related to the environment and air pollution; yet are only moderately informed about a variety of environmental issues. While the great majority of Albertans appear to be engaged in environmental behaviours at home, fewer consider energy efficiency when purchasing consumer goods. An even smaller percentage makes environmentally conscious transportation decisions. To encourage the population to make recommended environmental behaviours, mass media approaches may do well to target the specific beliefs that were deemed salient (e.g., promote the association between environment issues and health). The public health sector has a major role in working with inter-sectoral groups to address this significant public health issue.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Perceived environment and physical activity in youth.

The examination of physical environments to explain and promote physical activity is an important yet under-investigated area of research inquiry. This study explored relationships between the perceived availability of physical environmental resources and the perceived importance of these resources in relation to physical activity levels amongst youth. A self-report questionnaire was completed by 610 students (mean age = 15.5 years old; 62% female participants) from four high schools (grades 9-12) in rural Alberta, Canada. Perceived physical environment constructs explained 5% of the variance in physical activity, with home, neighborhood, and school as significant domains. Perceived importance constructs explained 8% of the variance in physical activity with school context showing the only significant relationship with physical activity. A hierarchical regression analysis entered sex, grade, self-efficacy, peer, family and physical education teacher relationships, as the first block and eight environmental constructs as the second block. The first block variables accounted for 22% of the variance and environmental constructs accounted for an added 4% of the variance in physical activity. Perceived importance of the school environment was the only environment variable significantly associated with physical activity (beta = .14; p < .05) after taking into account the impact of these traditional predictors. These findings reinforce the need to provide and support school physical environments related to physical activity.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Correlates of physical activity change in patients not attending cardiac rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVE: Limited research has identified theoretical correlates of physical activity (PA) change in patients not receiving cardiac rehabilitation. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether changes in self-efficacy, PA intention, perceived severity and susceptibility, and PA benefits/barriers were associated with changes in PA over a 12-month period in these patients. METHODS: Patients (N = 555) not attending cardiac rehabilitation completed a psychosocial questionnaire in hospital and 6 and 12 months after hospitalization for a cardiac event. RESULTS: Hierarchical regression analyses showed that the increase in PA from baseline to 6 months was significantly related to an increase in self-efficacy and PA intentions and a decrease in the impact of health-related barriers. Furthermore, the decrease in PA from 6 to 12 months was significantly related to a decrease in health-related benefits and PA intentions and an increase in time and health-related barriers. Finally, the increase in PA from baseline to 12 months was significantly related to an increase in health-related benefits and intentions and a decrease in health-related barriers. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in PA levels over a 12-month period were associated with changes in various theoretical variables. Interestingly, the associations among these variables with PA varied as a function of time after hospitalization.

Coronary Artery Disease↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Efficacy of an E-mail intervention for the promotion of physical activity and nutrition behavior in the workplace context.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a 12-week workplace e-mail intervention designed to promote physical activity and nutrition behavior. DESIGN: A pre- and post-test design was conducted to compare the effects of e-mail messages between intervention and control groups. SETTING: Five large workplaces in Alberta, Canada. SUBJECTS: Employees with access to a personal e-mail address (N = 2121) were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 1566) or a control group (n = 555). INTERVENTION: Physical activity and nutrition messages were based on social-cognitive theories. The intervention group received one physical activity and one parallel nutrition message per week for 12 weeks. The control group received no weekly messages. MEASURES: Each participant completed self-report measures of physical activity and nutrition related to knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors 1 week before (time 1) and 1 week after (time 2) the intervention. RESULTS: The intervention group was more efficacious at time 2 on measures of self-efficacy, pros, cons, intentions, and behavior related to physical activity. This group also reported more favorable changes in practicing healthy eating, balancing food intake with activity level, cooking meals with techniques to reduce fat, and avoiding eating high-fat foods. Effect sizes for all significant differences were small. CONCLUSION: E-mail is a promising mode of delivery for promoting physical activity and nutrition in the workplace. Further theoretically driven studies are needed.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Stages of change in physical exercise: a test of stage discrimination and nonlinearity.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the utility of the protection motivation theory (PMT), social-cognitive theory (SCT) and transtheoretical model's (TTM) processes of change (POC) by (1) discriminating between TTM's stages with planned comparisons and (2) examining higher-ordered trends across stages. METHODS: 1582 individuals were included in the analyses that tested severity, vulnerability, response-efficacy, self-efficacy, POC, pros and cons, social and environmental support. RESULTS: The findings provide evidence for the utility of the PMT and TTM's POC for stage discrimination; stage discontinuity patterns are supported. CONCLUSIONS: Promotion of health behavior should target stage-specific variables, such as threat appraisals for early stage movements.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Demographic, health, and behavioral factors associated with smoking in adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVES: To identify demographic, health, and behavioral factors associated with smoking behavior in adults with diabetes. METHODS: Canadian adults 18+ years with type 1 (n=697) or type 2 (n=1621) were investigated. Logistic regression analyses were conducted separately for both diabetes subgroups. RESULTS: When comparing never versus ever smokers, never versus current smokers, and former smokers who quit versus current smokers, similarities and differences for demographic, health, and behavioral factors were found for the 2 diabetes subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes type, demographic, health, and behavioral factors should be considered when tailoring smoking cessation and prevention programs.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The awareness and use of Canada's Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living.

BACKGROUND: With the recent release of Canada's Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living (CPAG), there is a need to identify the extent to which the population is aware of and using the guide. The purpose of this study was to report on population awareness and use of the CPAG, and secondarily to determine if demographic variables (i.e., age, sex, ethnicity, household income, educational level) moderate the awareness and use of the CPAG. METHODS: In a large recreation survey, questionnaires were mailed to 10,000 randomly selected households in Alberta. A respondent from each household was self-selected based on which member, 18 years or older, would celebrate the next birthday. Two questions pertaining to the awareness and use of the CPAG were included. RESULTS: Responses were received from 2,719 Albertans. Of those responding, 20.7% (95% CI, 19.2-22.2) stated they were aware of the CPAG and 5.5% (95% CI, 4.7-6.3) had actually followed the recommendations in the guide. Gender and educational level were significant moderators of awareness and use of the CPAG. CONCLUSIONS: The implications of these findings are that the majority of the Canadian population is not aware of the CPAG. Furthermore, certain segments of the population are less aware of the guide than others.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Physical activity, smoking, and obesity among Canadian school youth. Comparison between urban and rural schools.

BACKGROUND: More information is needed to document the prevalence of health risk factors in youth. The purpose of this study is to compare the prevalence of physical inactivity, smoking and overweight/obesity among youth in urban and rural schools. METHODS: Data were obtained from a Student Physical Activity and Smoking Survey of 2,697 high school students in four urban schools in Ontario and four rural schools in Alberta. Prevalence of physical inactivity was assessed by examining compliance with Canada's Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living, and with daily energy expenditure classification values. Prevalence of smoking was assessed by examining current smoking status. Overweight and obesity prevalences were examined by comparing BMI values to the BMI index for age and sex percentiles set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. RESULTS: Physical activity prevalence was found to be low in our study, with only 57.0% of youth achieving Canada's Physical Activity Guidelines, and with 26.0% classified as sedentary based on the daily energy expenditure classification values. A higher proportion of rural students reported "trying smoking" than urban school students (73.0% versus 64.4%, p<0.001). A significantly higher proportion of rural males were 'overweight' than urban males, and a significantly higher proportion of rural females were 'obese' in comparison to urban females. CONCLUSION: Our findings add further support for an urgent need to promote physical activity among Canadian youth. Additionally, our results suggest that it is especially important to target rural students, particularly girls, for smoking prevention programs. Future studies are required to examine such rural and urban differences within provinces.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of quality of commercial pedometers.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to: 1) evaluate the quality of promotional pedometers widely distributed through cereal boxes at the time of the 2004 Canada on the Move campaign; and 2) establish a battery of testing protocols to provide direction for future consensus on industry standards for pedometer quality. METHODS: Fifteen Kellogg's* Special K* Step Counters (K pedometers or K; manufactured for Kellogg Canada by Sasco, Inc.) and 9 Yamax pedometers (Yamax; Yamax Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) were tested with 9 participants accordingly: 1) 20 Step Test; 2) treadmill at 80m x min(-1) (3 miles x hr(-1)) and motor vehicle controlled conditions; and 3) 24-hour free-living conditions against an accelerometer criterion. RESULTS: Fifty-three percent of the K pedometers passed the 20 Step Test compared to 100% of the Yamax. Mean absolute percent error for the K during treadmill walking was 24.2+/-33.9 vs. 3.9+/-6.6% for the Yamax. The K detected 5.7-fold more non-steps compared to the Yamax during the motor vehicle condition. In the free-living condition, mean absolute percent error relative to the ActiGraph was 44.9+/-34.5% for the K vs. 19.5+/-21.2% for the Yamax. CONCLUSIONS: K pedometers are unacceptably inaccurate. We suggest that research grade pedometers: 1) be manufactured to a sensitivity threshold of 0.35 Gs; 2) detect +/-1 step error on the 20 Step Test (i.e., within 5%); 3) detect +/-1% error most of the time during treadmill walking at 80m x min(-1) (3 miles x hr(-1)); as well as, 4) detect steps/day within 10% of the ActiGraph at least 60% of the time, or be within 10% of the Yamax under free-living conditions.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Characteristics of participants visiting the Canada on the move website.

BACKGROUND: The Internet is a potential medium to attain large groups of Canadians for physical activity monitoring and interventions, however, little is known about the characteristics of participants who could be recruited on a national level. Our objectives were to determine: 1) the extent to which our sample was representative of the Canadian population; 2) the demographic, social-cognitive and physical activity behaviour, and environmental characteristics of one-time and multi-time users of the Canada on the Move website; and 3) whether certain recruitment strategies were more likely to reach specific demographic subgroups. METHODS: Web-based self-report measures were collected on demographic, social-cognitive, physical activity behaviour, and environmental factors. Descriptive statistics were employed to address the study's research objectives. RESULTS: Significant differences (p<0.001) were found between our total sample and 2001 Canadian census/Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) data on all demographic and physical activity behaviour measures. One-time and multi-time users significantly differed on age (p<0.005) and being responsible for children under age 13 (p=0.01). No differences existed between the groups on any of the social-cognitive, behavioural or environmental variables. Source of knowledge about the Canada on the Move website between one-time and multi-time users was not significantly different. CONCLUSION: The Canada on the Move website presents a viable approach to reaching diverse demographic groups. Further work needs to be undertaken to: 1) develop engaging websites; 2) detail the monitoring of the web-based access information; 3) integrate the website with other organizations promoting physical activity; and 4) expand the number of recruitment sources.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Perceived neighbourhood correlates of walking among participants visiting the Canada on the Move website.

BACKGROUND: The purposes of this study were to: 1) explore the potential role of sex in the association between the perceived environment and walking; and 2) determine the efficacy of an Internet-based research platform for collecting population-level physical activity and correlates data. METHODS: Visitors to the Canada on the Move website were asked questions about their demographics, physical activity participation and perceptions of their neighbourhood environment. A total of 3,144 Canadians (2,036 women; 609 men) completed the survey. Level of walking was regressed on eight measures of perceived neighbourhood environment in a series of logistic regressions. RESULTS: Individuals who reported interesting scenery (OR=1.41, 95% CI 1.17-1.71) and many places to go that were within easy walking distance (OR=1.39, 95% CI 1.18-1.64) were more likely to report walking at a level sufficient to derive health benefits. For women, interesting scenery in and around their neighbourhood (OR=1.40, 95% CI 1.13-1.74) and the presence of many places to go within easy walking distance (OR=1.42, 95% CI 1.17-1.72) were associated with walking at a sufficient level. Among men, no significant associations were found between the perceived environment measures and walking. CONCLUSIONS: The results from this study provide additional support for the use of models in which sex is treated as a potential moderator of the link between the perceived environment and physical activity. Further, the results support the use of an Internet-based research platform to collect data on the correlates of physical activity.

Adolescent↗