Physical Activity Among Adults in Rural Western North Carolina During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Introduction During the COVID-19 pandemic, measures implemented to protect community health may have influenced how and where people engaged in physical activity. In rural communities, access to resources, the environment, and socioeconomic status could play a role in how adults are physically active. Our study examined locations where rural residents of a county in western North Carolina engaged in physical activity early in the COVID-19 pandemic, their reasons for being physically active, and their perceptions of benefits and barriers related to engaging in physical activity. Methods Rural adults (N =297) completed an online survey from August 3 through September 15, 2020, describing their physical activity during the summer of 2020. Data were analyzed using nonparametric measures. Results Survey respondents frequently engaged in physical activity in the home (57.8%), at parks or on trails (45.3%), and around their neighborhood (39.4%). The most common types of physical activities at parks or on trails were walking and hiking (99.5%). Across all locations, the most frequently reported reasons for engaging in physical activity were getting out of the house, maintaining fitness and mental health, and exercising. Conclusion Our study showed many locations where rural residents were physically active and their reasons for participating in physical activity during the pandemic. Data about perceived benefits of and barriers to physical activity during the pandemic can assist in meeting the current need to increase physical activity levels in rural communities.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Physical Activity among Mostly Older, Overweight Black Women Living in the Rural Alabama Black Belt

“…Aligning with national and global trends [4], the findings point to a perceived negative impact of COVID-19 on PA participation-nearly half of participants described pandemic-related barriers that made PA more difficult and reported being less active during the height of the pandemic. Several of the pandemic-related barriers to PA (i.e., increased stress and anxiety, lack of facilities to partake in PA, fear of exposure to COVID-19, and discomfort wearing a face mask) found in these communities were similar to those reported in other studies [12,13,28] with different samples (mostly White, income > USD 60,000 [13], and not rural [12]). On the contrary, the other half of the study sample reported that the COVID-19 pandemic did not make it more difficult to be active.…”

“…The first US-based study to examine COVID-19 ′ s impact on meeting PA guidelines in rural and non-rural residents found that rural participants were significantly less physically active than their non-rural counterparts, and participants who reported lack of indoor space as a barrier to PA were 93% less likely to meet PA guidelines than those who did not indicate lack of indoor space as negatively impacting PA [12]. A separate cross-sectional study in rural western North Carolina [13] found that the closure of parks and recreation centers (71.9%), stay-at-home orders (55.7%), cancellation of recreational sports (48.8%), and fitness facility closings (44.9%) were the most commonly reported barriers to PA. However, data for both studies were collected from mostly white participants (95.7% and 96%, respectively) and may not be generalizable to other racial/ethnic groups.…”

Maintaining Our Commitment to Building Scientific Publishing Capacity of Students: PCD’s 2022 Student Paper Contest Winners and Release of 2023 Call for Papers

“…This year’s winning paper in the undergraduate category was generated by Creech et al: “Physical Activity Among Adults in Rural Western North Carolina During the COVID-19 Pandemic” ( 5 ). This article examines the locations, reasons, benefits, and barriers to engaging in physical activity among adults living in rural communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…Over the years, PCD has refined the purpose of the student research publication opportunity to include these 5 primary goals (3): Sixteen student research papers were submitted for the contest in 2022, and all submissions underwent the same peer-review process as any other manuscript submitted to the journal for consideration. Eight of the 16 papers were successful in making it through a rigorous review process before being accepted for publication (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11). Student research papers addressed a range of topics: COVID-19 and various aspects of health, food insecurities among caregivers in southern states, the relationship between physical activity and depression among high school students, perceptions of neighborhood development on active living among community residents, use of a cancer index as a predictor of common cancers, and spatial analysis of breast cancer mortality rates in rural states.…”

“…In the high school category, Wang and coauthors of the article "Association Between Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior With Depressive Symptoms Among US High School Students, 2019" point out that depression among high school students has increased over the past decade (4). Their research analyzed 2019 data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey that consisted of 13,526 high school students.…”