In early 2021, the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) was contracted by Communicate Health, a partner of the ODPHP, to deliver local programming of the MYW campaign to the area’s Hispanic community. Additionally, through Communicate Health, the ODPHP paid for social media that promoted the MYW campaign that targeted Hispanic audiences in the Las Vegas metro region. During the spring, summer, and early fall of 2021, the SNHD organized and delivered community-based intervention programs that targeted this priority population. Numerous strategies were employed and included the distribution of MYW materials such as PA fact sheets and pamphlets with suggestions of how to be more physically active, and hosting MYW events in Hispanic neighborhoods that provided opportunities to engage in PA and learn about MYW. MYW materials articulated the 2018 PA guidelines (150 minutes/week of MPA or 75 minutes of VPA per week and muscle-strengthening activities performed at least twice weekly). Materials were available in Spanish and English and were disseminated in person at community events by SNHD staff. MYW materials were also distributed at other events, including COVID-19 vaccination clinics, PA classes, a YM/YWCA dance party, a virtual 5-kilometer footrace, and an online Girls on the Run event. The SNHD website also houses a link to MYW campaign information [20].
Upon completion of the MYW intervention events in mid-September 2021, a research team of university students and faculty commenced data collection assessing the PA knowledge and behavior of Hispanic adults at community events. Thirteen of these events were described as “resource fair/vaccination clinics,” where attendees could receive COVID vaccinations and a range of health-related materials and services that included skin care, vision and hearing tests, body fat assessment, and other services provided by private companies and local non-profits. Data were also collected at two Hispanic Heritage events, a City of Las Vegas sponsored “Trunk or Treat” Halloween party, and two large free food distributions that were held at a church. At all events, those who approached our booth/table were asked if they were interested in completing a PA knowledge and behavior survey that could be completed in five to seven minutes. Prospective participants were also informed that upon completion of the survey they would receive a $5 Walmart gift card. All data collection events were held in geographic areas where at least 50% of residents identified as Hispanic. Data collection was completed in early March 2022. The project was approved by the university’s Office of Research Integrity (Protocol 1772545-1).
At all survey sites at least one UNLV student and a university faculty member were situated at a table adorned with a banner announcing our university affiliation and a sign explaining that we were conducting a study addressing exercise/PA knowledge and behavior. Those who agreed to participate used their phones to access the survey via a QR code. The survey was available in English and Spanish. The English version had been translated into Spanish and back translated to ensure accuracy and cultural relevance. Minor differences were discussed, and a final version was agreed upon. Respondents without access to smart phones (< 15%) were given the option to take the survey using available iPads that were provided by the research team. Respondents were instructed to select the survey language with which they were most comfortable. If they indicated proficiency in both languages, researchers suggested that they complete the survey in Spanish. The survey’s second item asked if the respondent self-identified as Hispanic. The survey automatically terminated for those answering, “no.” We additionally collected 123 on-line surveys using Qualtrics (Provo, UT). These surveys were completed in English over a two-week period that spanned late February and early March of 2022.
The survey consisted of 38–42 items, depending on responses to specific items and their associated skip patterns. There were eight demographic items (age, race, income, educational attainment, gender, a child in the home, residential locale (urban/suburban etc.), and residential ZIP code). Variables related to the MYW campaign exposure were gleaned from questions regarding whether participants had: 1) SHR anything about the MYW campaign in the past six months; 2) seen the MYW logo over the same time period, and 3) SHR anything about federally-created PA guidelines from any source. Frequency and duration of being physically active was measured by asking, “In a typical week, how many days do you do any aerobic physical activity of at least moderate intensity, such as brisk walking, bicycling, using a cardio machine, or swimming?” and, “On the days that you do any physical activity of at least moderate intensity, how long (in minutes) do you typically do these activities?” The same questions were used for VPA. The following equation was employed to determine if the aerobic guideline had been met, ((minutes VPA x 2) + minutes MPA ≥ 150).
Frequency of muscle-strengthening exercise was measured by asking, “In a typical week, how many days do you do physical activities specifically designed to strengthen your muscles, such as lifting weights or body weight exercises (like push-ups)?” To measure intention to become more physically active respondents were asked, “How likely are you to become more physically active in the next 6 months?” Response choices were, “extremely unlikely, somewhat unlikely, somewhat likely, extremely likely.” For analysis “extremely unlikely” and “unlikely” were combined into “unlikely.” The same grouping strategy was used for the “extremely likely” and “likely” responses. Those who responded “somewhat” or “extremely” likely were our PA “contemplators.” There were also eight items presented on a 1–10 scale that measured respondent’s confidence (self-efficacy) that they could overcome PA barriers (bad weather, bored by PA, PA-related pain, exercising alone, feeling tired, busy with other activities, not enjoying PA, feeling depressed) and still remain physically active.
Participants were also asked questions involving knowledge typical of physiological responses to vigorous and moderate intensity physical activities. Correct responses to these items were, “your heart beats much faster than usual and you cannot say more than a few words before stopping for a breath,” and “your heart beats somewhat faster than usual and you can talk while doing the activity,” respectively. Physical activity knowledge of the 2018 guidelines was measured by the following multiple- choice items: 1) “What duration of moderately intense PA is recommended?” Correct answer: 150 minutes per week. 2) “How many days of muscle-strengthening activities are needed per week to gain strength?” Correct answer: a minimum of two. 3) In addition, a review of our original survey revealed that we had failed to include a question regarding the recommended minutes of VPA. The following item was a part of the Qualtrics on-line survey, “What duration of vigorous PA is needed to produce health benefits?” Correct answer: 75 minutes per week.
Frequencies and distributions were calculated for all variables. Logistic and Chi Square analyses were used to assess relationships between exposure to the MYW campaign and PA knowledge and behaviors. One-tailed, independent t-tests were used to determine if exposure to the MYW campaign was associated with higher confidence in overcoming barriers to PA. If data for a dependent variable were missing, then those participants were omitted from the data analysis for that particular variable, but were retained for other analyses. This causes some analyses to be of slightly different sample sizes. In all cases, alpha was set at 0.05 to determine statistical significance.