Physical Activity in Staff: Perceived Benefits, Barriers, and Self-efficacy

Abstract

Background & Aims of the Study: A major factor affecting health is regular physical activity. Physical activity reduces the risk of infectious diseases. The current study aimed to investigate the Perceived benefits, barriers, and self-efficacy of physical activity of the administrative staff of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in 2018. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, a sample of 300 employees of the administrative staff of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran City, Iran, was selected by a convenience sampling method. The study variables included demographic information, perceived benefits and barriers, and self-efficacy physical activity. SPSS v. 16 was used to analyze the obtained data using the Chi-squared test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal- Wallis test, and Spearman correlation coefficient. Results: The collected results indicated a significant relationship between personal (P<0.03) and interpersonal (P<0.001) benefits and gender. Moreover, among the barriers, only environmental barriers had a significant relationship with gender (P<0.03). A significant association was observed between benefits and barriers and self-efficacy (P<0.01). The most common (environmental) barriers were the lack of sports space for men (51.6%) and women (62.9%), and being away from sports spaces for men (41.5%) and women (49.4%); the (personal) barriers were time-consuming for men (38.5%), women (43%). The most common benefits were better sleep for men (96.9%) and improved appearance for women (95.3%). The most general self-efficacy was exercising alone in men (61.5%) and women (56.5%). Conclusion: The staff expressed common barriers to physical activity. These barriers should be considered in designing health care policies and interventions such as providing sports facilities to promote physical activity.

Designing a physical activity promotion program in the workplace: An intervention mapping approach

“…The results of the literature review showed that factors such as knowledge (4,14,15), PA literacy (16), motivation to follow (14,17), behavioral consequences (14,18), positive attitude towards PA (14)(15)(16)18), behavioral skills (19), perceived sensitivity and intensity (14,15,18), perceived benefits (14,20,21,22), self-efficacy (14,15,18,20,22), social support (4,14,15,18,23), social norms (15,17), structural factors and enabling factors (14,24,25), policies and laws (14,21) environmental factors (the provision of facilities and resources) (15,16,19,24) and organizational support (20,25,26) are effective factors of PA in the workplace.…”