Measuring Adherence to a Women’s Walking Program

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the use of a self-report exercise log and a heart-rate monitor in the measurement of adherence to the dimensions of an exercise prescription and to propose an alternative way to define adherence to a 24-week home-based women's walking program, which reflects the dynamic process of behavior change. Adherence was measured with exercise logs, Polar Vantage XL Heart-Rate Monitors, and pre- to postintervention change in VO2 max. Of the dimensions of the exercise prescription, frequency of walks documented by both the heart-rate monitor and the exercise log had a higher correlation than duration and intensity of walking, with change in VO2 max suggesting that frequency was potentially the most predictive adherence measure. Examination of the total number of walks and the number and sequence of weeks without walks over the 24-week intervention revealed dynamic patterns of adherence suggesting variation in the degree of behavioral change.

Cardiopulmonary Responses and Adherence to Exercise in Women Newly Diagnosed With Breast Cancer Undergoing Adjuvant Therapy

“…The Polar HR monitor has been widely used in exercise research studies. 26,27 After completing the 8-week exercise intervention, a postintervention GXT was performed within 2 weeks after the last exercise session, but in some cases, it was performed after 2 weeks because of scheduling difficulties. The exercise physiologist research member encouraged the participants in the intervention group to maintain the same pattern of exercise at home or in a community setting biweekly at the time of data collection by phone.…”

Chronic Osteoarthritis and Adherence to Exercise: A Review of the Literature

“…In light of the many potential exercise-adherence determinants, multiple reports attest to the importance of attending to individualsʼ background, their prior exercise experiences, their self-effi cacy beliefs (Wilbur, Chandler, & Miller, 2001), the nature of the exercise regimen, and the prevailing degree of support for exercise-adherence strategies (Hughes et al, 2004;Pickett et al, 2002) in promoting adherence.…”

“…As summarized in Table 3, the randomized controlled trials that have described exercise interventions for people with osteoarthritis or related symptoms include a diverse array of results, adherence measures, and potential problems with these. To obviate problems in using self-reported exercise logs, the method used by Wilbur et al (2001) of Polar Vantage XL heart-rate monitors and pre-to postintervention changes in VO 2max seems reasonable. To specifi cally overcome the fi nding that doctors usually evaluate adherence indirectly and tend to signifi cantly overestimate it (Carr, 2001), Konradi and Lyon (2000) have developed a theoretically based measure to determine adherence to a self-care fi tness-walking routine.…”

Adherence to a home-walking prescription in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

“…These categories were conceptualized independently and then tested with these data. The adherence patterns, originally described by Wilbur and colleagues 35 for use with healthy women, were modified to account for unique characteristics of this sample of patients with COPD and the longitudinal design of the study. Specifically, the "one long relapse" category was added to account for patients who were very consistent with exercise except for one extended illness or vacation during the year.…”