Tailored physical activity behavior change interventions: challenges and opportunities
Author(s) -
K. Jasmin,
Theresa A. Floegel,
Linda Li,
Jenny Leese,
Mary A. De Vera,
Mark R. Beauchamp,
Jack Taunton,
Teresa LiuAmbrose,
Kelli D. Allen
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
translational behavioral medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1869-6716
pISSN - 1613-9860
DOI - 10.1093/tbm/ibab106
Subject(s) - psychological intervention , health psychology , physical activity , psychology , health benefits , behavior change , behavioral medicine , cross cultural psychology , key (lock) , applied psychology , knowledge management , medicine , public health , computer science , social psychology , nursing , psychotherapist , psychiatry , physical medicine and rehabilitation , traditional medicine , computer security
A physically active lifestyle provides innumerable benefits; yet, few individuals are physically active enough to reap those benefits. Tailored physical activity interventions may address low rates of physical activity by offering individualized strategies that consider a person's characteristics, needs, preferences, and/or context, rather than the traditional one-size-fits-all approach. However, the tailoring methodology is in its nascency, and an understanding of how best to develop such interventions is needed. In this commentary, we identify future directions to enhance the impact of tailored interventions designed to increase physical activity participation. A multi-country collaborative was established to review the literature and discuss an agenda for future research. Two overarching research opportunities are suggested for improving the development of tailored, behavioral physical activity interventions: (a) optimize the engagement of diverse knowledge users in intervention co-design and (b) examine ethical considerations that may impact the use of technology to support tailored physical activity delivery. Specifically, there is a need for better reporting and evaluation of knowledge user involvement alongside targeting diversity in the inclusion of knowledge users. Furthermore, while technology boasts many opportunities to increase the scale and precision of interventions, examinations of how it impacts recipients' experiences of and participation in tailored interventions are needed to ensure the benefits of technology use outweigh the risks. A better understanding of these research areas will help ensure that the diverse needs of individuals are met, technology is appropriately used to support tailoring, and ultimately it improves the effectiveness of tailored physical activity interventions.