DEVELOPMENT OF INTERVENTION METHOD FOR ADOPTING AND MAINTAINING EXERCISE BASED ON BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE

2001 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 12670370
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Public health/Health science
• Research Institution: Tokyo Medical University
• Principal Investigator: SHIMOMITSU Teruichi Medicine Professor, 医学部, 教授 (90206243)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): OHYA Yumiko Medicine Lecturer, 医学部, 講師 (00074724) ; ODAGIRI Yuko Medicine Lecturer, 医学部, 講師 (90276907)
• Project Period (FY): 2000 – 2001
• Keywords: Physical activity / exercise habit / transtheoretical model / process of change / stage of change / intervention / cluster randomization

Research Abstract

The purpose of this project was to develop an intervention method for adopting and maintainingexercise habits based on behavioral medicine. For achieving this purpose, we first developed a new scale with reference to the translated exercise process-of-change questionnaire in the Transtheoretical model.
From the answers to the questionnaire, 45 items were set in the scale concerning the kind ofskills to be used when the subjects change their physical activity behaviors. The new scale and some questions concerning the stage of change for exercise behavior (SOC) distribution were delivered to Japanese workers om one company. Twelve hundred and eighty seven subjects answered and gave informed consent for this sudy.
Principle component factor analysis with promax rotation revealed an ll-factor solution. Chronbachalpha for each factor was greater than 0.7 in 9 out of ll cases, and the internal consistencies were relatively high. Analyses of variance showed that mean scores for all ll factors w ere significantly (p<0.00l) high in the subjects with higher SOC, signifying that the newscale has high validity.
After developing the new scale, the intervention program was performed at the worksite, and the effect was analyzed by controlled study with clusterrandomization. The intervention was based on population Strategy and set for 14 times over 6 months, including an intensive period of 1 interventionper week for 8weeks. Contents consisted of information provision, including behavioral skills according to the subjects' SOC at baseline assessment.The results showed that there were no significant changes in SOC, the scores ofPOC,daily physical activity energy expenditures, nor step counts for the intervention and the control groups. Most intervention methods based on population strategy are information providing. However, even if methods include behavioral skills specific to individuals' their SOC, it can be difficult to evoke behavioral modification.The development of more effectiveintervention techniques is necessary.