Leisure Time Physical Activity, Outcome Expectations, And Barriers During Pregnancy In Urban And Rural Individuals

Rurality is associated with lower levels of leisure time physical activity (LTPA) in general populations, but scarce research investigates the presence and possible determinants of this disparity during pregnancy. PURPOSE: To compare LTPA levels, exercise outcome expectations, and exercise barriers in urban and rural pregnant individuals. METHODS: This secondary analysis from the ongoing Pregnancy 24/7 cohort study used data collected during each trimester of pregnancy from two clinical sites (Iowa City, IA and Morgantown, WV). LTPA was self-reported via the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire (PPAQ) and scored as MET-hr per week. Participants also completed the Exercise Outcome Expectations and Barriers questionnaire, which provides a continuous score where higher values indicate greater outcome expectations and barriers. Participants were classified as urban or rural groups based on their Rural-Urban Commuting Area Codes (1-3 = urban and 4-10 = rural). Independent t-tests evaluated urban-rural differences in outcome measures for each trimester. RESULTS: Among 302 participants (mean age 30.4 ± 4.5 years) there were significant differences between LTPA in rural and urban pregnant individuals during the first and second trimesters, but not the third (see Table). Yet urban and rural participants reported similar exercise outcomes expectations and barriers across trimesters. CONCLUSIONS: Rural participants reported less LTPA than their urban counterparts, yet exercise outcome expectations and barriers do not appear to explain this discrepancy. Future research is needed to elucidate the determinants of LTPA disparities in rural pregnant individuals. Table. - LTPA, Outcome Expectations, and Barriers in Pregnant Individuals LTPA(MET-hr per week) Exercise Outcome Expectations(points) Exercise Barriers(points) Trimester 1 Urban (n = 220) 13.2 24.7 17.5 Rural (n = 82) 9.3 24.3 17.2 p-value 0.006 0.671 0.657 Trimester 2 Urban (n = 196) 14.7 23.4 16.6 Rural (n = 71) 8.0 21.6 16.4 p-value <0.001 0.076 0.867 Trimester 3 Urban (n = 172) 11.5 22.7 16.5 Rural (n = 63) 9.5 21.9 16.5 p-value 0.234 0.447 0.975 Note: Data reported in mean with p-values. Bold indicates statistical significance.