Promoting physical activities that involve both parents and their children would be very useful to the improved health and well-being of families, yet coactivity interventions have been particularly unsuccessful in past research. The purpose of this study was to elicit the salient parental beliefs about coactivity framed through theory of planned behavior in order to inform future intervention content. A representative sample of Canadian parents ( N = 483) with children aged 6 to 14 years completed belief elicitation measures of theory of planned behavior, as well as coactivity and program preferences. Analyses included content theming by physical activity belief and preference through tallies of the percentages of parents endorsing each belief. Exploratory analyses of differences in endorsed themes were conducted by parent (mother, father), age of child (6-10 years, 11-14 years), and sex of the child. The results showed that behavioral beliefs about health, interpersonal and educational/learning opportunities and control beliefs about lack of time, various incompatible parent/child factors, parental health, and bad weather were dominant themes. Most of these themes did not vary in endorsement by parent and child characteristics. By contrast, preferences for various activities varied by parent and child characteristics, yet parents overwhelmingly desired the activities to be outdoors, close to home, after work, and originally delivered from community health professionals via Internet or face-to face means. Overall, the findings provide several considerations for specific targets to improve future physical activity intervention approaches among parents and their children.

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BackgroundWalking among dog owners may be a means to achieve health benefits, yet almost half of owners (approximately 30% of households) are not regularly walking their dogs. Current research on the correlates of dog walking has generally considered intention as the primary determinant of behavior, yet the intention-behavior relationship is modest. The purpose of this paper was to apply a framework designed to evaluate the intention-behavior gap, known as multi-process action control (M-PAC), to understand daily walking among dog owners.MethodA community sample of adult dog owners (N = 227) in Victoria, Canada completed M-PAC measures of motivational (dog and human outcome expectations, affective judgments, perceived capability and opportunity), regulatory (planning), and reflexive (automaticity, identity) processes as well as intention to walk and behavior.ResultsThree intention-behavior profiles emerged: a) non-intenders who were not active (26%; n = 59), b) unsuccessful intenders who failed to enact their positive intentions (33%; n = 75), and c) successful intenders who were active (40%; n = 91). Congruent with M-PAC, a discriminant function analysis showed that affective judgements (r = 0.33), automaticity (r = 0.38), and planning (r = 0.33) distinguished between all three intention-behavior profiles, while identity (r = 0.22) and dog breed size (r = 0.28) differentiated between successful and unsuccessful intenders.ConclusionsThe majority of dog owners have positive intentions to walk, yet almost half fail to meet these intentions. Interventions focused on affective judgments (e.g., more enjoyable places to walk), behavioral regulation (e.g., setting a concrete plan), habit (e.g., making routines and cues) and identity formation (e.g., affirmations of commitment) may help overcome difficulties with translating these intentions into action, thus increasing overall levels of walking.

Objective: Dog owners walk more per week compared to non-dog owners; however, 60% of dog owners are still not walking their dogs at intensities sufficient to reap optimal health benefits. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of a 9-week randomized controlled trial involving a program of six weekly scheduled instructor-led group dog walks supplemented with theory-based strategies to encourage increased dog walking among dog owners in Greater Victoria, BC. Methods: Participants were 17 adults aged 18+, who owned at least one healthy and friendly dog aged six months+, who were not meeting recommended moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) guidelines. Data were collected using pedometers, self-report measures, and a program evaluation survey. Results: Feasibility outcomes included 74 interested responses, 23% recruitment rate ( n = 17), 94% retention rate ( n = 16), and 94% adherence rate ( n = 15). Program participants were overall (very) satisfied with the program. Total weekly step counts and average daily step counts, MVPA dog walking, and MVPA with dog (i.e., all leisure time physical activity with dog - e.g., hiking, swimming, biking, playing Frisbee) increased at the end of the program and at follow-up, resulting in large effect sizes when compared to the waitlist-control group. Conclusions: This six-week group dog walking program was feasible, acceptable, and efficacious in encouraging increased dog walking and MVPA among dog owners. It is recommended for future studies to refine initial recruitment strategies, reimburse medical/veterinarian clearance costs to reduce cost-related barriers to participation, and offer a variety of options for program delivery (e.g., different locations/schedules/seasons, online programs, multi-site study) to accommodate more participants.

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