Abstract
Issue addressed: The Albany Physical Activity and Nutrition (APAN) study investigated the effects of a home-based intervention on dietary and physical activity behaviours and chronic disease risk for rural Australian adults. This paper reports on process evaluation to gain insight into the link between intervention elements and outcomes.
Methods: The APAN program comprised resources to improve diet and physical activity. Printed and online resources were provided, complemented by motivational interviewing. Process evaluation utilised mixed-methods, with a sample of 201 intervention participants residing in a disadvantaged rural area. Participants were aged 50 to 69 years and with, or at risk of, metabolic syndrome. Quantitative data were collected using an online survey (n=73), qualitative data were collected via telephone exit interviews with intervention completers (n=8) and non-completers (n=8), and recruitment notes recorded by research assistants.
Results: The attrition rate was 18%; major reasons for withdrawal being health and personal issues, or a loss of interest. The majority of participants found the printed resources useful, attractive, and suitable to their age group. The website was the least preferred resource. Reasons for completing the program included the desired health benefits, wanting to honour the commitment, and wanting to assist with research.
Conclusions: Carefully planned recruitment will reduce the burden on resources and improve uptake. Understanding reasons for attrition such as family or personal barriers and health issues will assist practitioners to support participants overcome these barriers. Given participants’ preference for printed resources, and the known effectiveness of these in combination with other strategies, investigating methods to encourage use of telephone and online support should be a priority.
So what? This process evaluation provided an overview of recruitment challenges and preferred intervention components. It is desirable for future work to determine the most effective intervention components for rural adults at risk of chronic disease.
Trial registration: anzctr.org.au Identifier: ACTRN12614000512628
Methods: The APAN program comprised resources to improve diet and physical activity. Printed and online resources were provided, complemented by motivational interviewing. Process evaluation utilised mixed-methods, with a sample of 201 intervention participants residing in a disadvantaged rural area. Participants were aged 50 to 69 years and with, or at risk of, metabolic syndrome. Quantitative data were collected using an online survey (n=73), qualitative data were collected via telephone exit interviews with intervention completers (n=8) and non-completers (n=8), and recruitment notes recorded by research assistants.
Results: The attrition rate was 18%; major reasons for withdrawal being health and personal issues, or a loss of interest. The majority of participants found the printed resources useful, attractive, and suitable to their age group. The website was the least preferred resource. Reasons for completing the program included the desired health benefits, wanting to honour the commitment, and wanting to assist with research.
Conclusions: Carefully planned recruitment will reduce the burden on resources and improve uptake. Understanding reasons for attrition such as family or personal barriers and health issues will assist practitioners to support participants overcome these barriers. Given participants’ preference for printed resources, and the known effectiveness of these in combination with other strategies, investigating methods to encourage use of telephone and online support should be a priority.
So what? This process evaluation provided an overview of recruitment challenges and preferred intervention components. It is desirable for future work to determine the most effective intervention components for rural adults at risk of chronic disease.
Trial registration: anzctr.org.au Identifier: ACTRN12614000512628
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 8-14 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Health Promotion Journal of Australia |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 14 Jul 2016 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Apr 2017 |
Keywords
- behaviour change
- chronic disease
- obseity
- program evaluation
- rural and regional health