A Cross-Sectional Comparison of Physical Activity during COVID-19 in a Sample of Rural and Non-Rural Participants in the US

Beck, Alan; Gilbert, Amanda; Duncan, Dixie; Wiedenman, Eric M.

doi:10.3390/ijerph18094991

Cited by 10 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Our finding that education and living environment are important determinants and correlates of PA replicates results from earlier studies [35,36] and ecological models [37]. For example, it has been shown that education was a correlate of moderate-tovigorous PA during COVID-19 in Canada [29] and living in urban areas increased the risk for inactivity during COVID-19 in US adults and Croatian adolescents [38,39]. In general, individuals from urban areas are more physically active [40,41], frequently engaged in sports clubs and, due to the living area and shortage of green space, are more dependent on sport facilities.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Staying Active under Restrictions: Changes in Type of Physical Exercise during the Initial COVID-19 Lockdown

Benzing

Nosrat

Aghababa

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated governmental restrictions suddenly changed everyday life and potentially affected exercise behavior. The aim of this study was to explore whether individuals changed their preference for certain types of physical exercise during the pandemic and to identify risk factors for inactivity. An international online survey with 13,881 adult participants from 18 countries/regions was conducted during the initial COVID-19 related lockdown (between April and May 2020). Data on types of exercise performed during and before the initial COVID-19 lockdown were collected, translated, and categorized (free-text input). Sankey charts were used to investigate these changes, and a mixed-effects logistic regression model was used to analyze risks for inactivity. Many participants managed to continue exercising but switched from playing games (e.g., football, tennis) to running, for example. In our sample, the most popular exercise types during the initial COVID-19 lockdown included endurance, muscular strength, and multimodal exercise. Regarding risk factors, higher education, living in rural areas, and physical activity before the COVID-19 lockdown reduced the risk for inactivity during the lockdown. In this relatively active multinational sample of adults, most participants were able to continue their preferred type of exercise despite restrictions, or changed to endurance type activities. Very few became physically inactive. It seems people can adapt quickly and that the constraints imposed by social distancing may even turn into an opportunity to start exercising for some. These findings may be helpful to identify individuals at risk and optimize interventions following a major context change that can disrupt the exercise routine.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Staying Active under Restrictions: Changes in Type of Physical Exercise during the Initial COVID-19 Lockdown

Benzing

Nosrat

Aghababa

et al. 2021

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In rural areas, it is often easier to find suitable areas for sports activity, even within a limited radius, and usually rural houses and apartments also offer more space to practice PA. This conjecture is confirmed by Beck et al [ 137 ]. A comparison between people from urban and rural areas revealed a positive impact of living in rural areas [ 138 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Changes in Physical Activity Patterns Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Wunsch

Kienberger

Niessner

2022

IJERPH

195

147

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With the outbreak of the Corona Virus Disease 19 (COVID-19) in late 2019, governments increasingly imposed containment strategies, including social distancing as well as restricted population movement, potentially having negative impacts on mental and physical health. A growing number of studies have examined the impact of the pandemic on different facets of physical activity (PA); an overview combining these (mixed) results, however, is missing. Thus, the objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate whether and to which extent PA changed from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking age, gender, and measurement method into account. The literature search was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. Results of the main characteristics were descriptively synthesized and analyzed in a meta-analysis quantifying effects of the pandemic on PA divided by age groups, with additional subgroup analyses of the characteristics age, gender, and measurement method being narratively synthesized. Overall, 57 studies with a total sample size of 119,094 participants (N between 10 and 60,560 subjects) from 14 countries worldwide with participants aged between four and 93 years were included. Thirty-two studies revealed a significant decline in PA, whereas only five studies found a significant increase in PA during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fourteen studies revealed mixed results. Except for children and adolescents, PA decreased in all age groups, independent of gender. Most self-reported and all device-based measurement methods showed a reduction in PA. However, effects were not found to be significant in all age groups. Nevertheless, the declining trend should be noted and governments should strive to enable PA within periods of pandemic restrictions, or promote alternatives such as digital training to avoid negative health consequences within the population.

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“…In order to minimize the number of variables, educational level was used as a surrogate to income as they were highly correlated. To define rurality, each participant’s zip code was compared to the Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC) [ 30 ]—a code of four or higher was operationally defined as rural [ 31 , 32 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptions of COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies between Rural and Non-Rural Adults in the US: How Public Health Nurses Can Fill the Gap

et al. 2022

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The purpose of this study was to capture the perceptions of COVID-19 mitigations’ efficacy of rural and non-rural participants, using the health belief model (HBM), as well as to describe where public health nursing may be able to fill behavior gaps in rural communities. Rural and non-rural participants completed electronic surveys. Surveys collected demographic information and perceptions of various mitigation strategies’ effectiveness. Rurality was significantly associated with perceptions of the effectiveness of public health mitigation strategies including wearing facemasks, limiting time indoors, avoiding gatherings, non-essential business closure, and staying home. Our findings suggest people in rural areas perceive mitigations to be effective. Other researchers have consistently shown rural residents are least likely to partake in the same mitigations. Rural public health nurses on the front line serve as the key to closing the aforementioned gap. Understanding where their community’s perceptions lie is pivotal in creating educational programs to continue mitigation efforts as we embark on the second year of this pandemic.

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A Cross-Sectional Comparison of Physical Activity during COVID-19 in a Sample of Rural and Non-Rural Participants in the US

Cited by 10 publications

References 31 publications

Staying Active under Restrictions: Changes in Type of Physical Exercise during the Initial COVID-19 Lockdown

Staying Active under Restrictions: Changes in Type of Physical Exercise during the Initial COVID-19 Lockdown

Changes in Physical Activity Patterns Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Perceptions of COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies between Rural and Non-Rural Adults in the US: How Public Health Nurses Can Fill the Gap

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