More than 68% of the people in all racial categories in the United States are either overweight (BMI 25-29.9) or obese (BMI 30+). Overweight and obesity are two significant risk factors for type 2 diabetes and heart disease (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease, 2012). Approximately 29 million people have diabetes in the United States. Heart disease is one of the serious complications associated with diabetes. More than 70% of the people diagnosed with diabetes were found to have hypertension. In addition, the cardiovascular disease death rates were about 1.7 times higher in adults with diabetes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). About five million adults age 35 years and older with diabetes in the United States also have coronary heart disease (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017 a). Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. More than 600,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year. Coronary heart disease is the most common type of heart disease and about 370,000 people die of coronary heart disease in the United States every year. The number of people getting first heart attack is even higher (about 525,000) in the United States every year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017 b). These chronic health issues can have a negative impact on a person’s quality of life and can add undue financial burden to the healthcare system in the United Sates. Routine physical activity component as a part of one’s daily routine activities, can help lower one’ risk of coronary heart disease, blood pressure and cholesterol level (National Institutes of Health, 2016). Regular physical activity, which includes participation in moderate and vigorous physical activities, is important to lower the risk of such chronic illnesses and to maintain as well as improve the health and quality of life (United States Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). Despite being aware of the benefits of physical activity, many people fail to prioritize incorporating physical activity into their daily routine. More than 80 percent of adults fail to meet the recommend physical activity guidelines (at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous- intensity aerobic activity) in the United States (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, n.d., United States Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). Therefore, there is a need for creative strategies that could motivate people to find ways be more physically active to meet the recommended physical activity guidelines. Motivational workshops that focus on physical activity could help people to learn how to prioritize routine physical activity as one of their daily lifestyle activities.
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to perform an integrative review to identify and analyze the existing research literature on motivational workshops to increase physical activity.
Methods:
A literature review was performed by searching computerized databases, including Medline, Medline Science, ProQuest, and Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL), focusing on social cognitive theory, motivational workshops and physical activity. The literature review included the studies published within the last ten years. Using the keywords motivational workshops and social cognitive theory, a total of 810 published studies were found (2 CINAHL, 787 ProQuest, 2 Medline and 19 Medline Science). Using the keywords motivational workshops, social cognitive theory, and physical activity, a total of 610 published studies were found (1 CINAHL, 601 ProQuest, 1 Medline and 7 Medline Science). Using the keywords motivational workshops, social cognitive theory, and physical activity, and restricting by English only total of 608 published studies were found (1 CINAHL, 599 ProQuest, 1 Medline and 7 Medline Science). Using the keywords motivational workshops, social cognitive theory, and physical activity, and restricting by English and adults only total of 60 published studies were found (1 CINAHL, 51 ProQuest, 1 Medline and 7 Medline Science). Further, the studies that were duplicate and that focused on areas other than physical activity such as mental health issues, addictions, pain management, infections were excluded. Thus, a total of eight interventional studies that focused on motivational workshops for physical activity were included in the final review. The physical activity framework for South Asian Indian Immigrants and Bandura’s social cognitive theory guided the development of data collection tools. The data collection tools included background and intrapersonal characteristics. The measures of background characteristics included current health, social interaction, and anthropometric measurements. The measures of intrapersonal characteristics included motivational workshops. In addition, the measures of physical activity included subjective and objective measures. The subjective measures of physical activity included self-reported number of days and time spent in physical activity and the objective measures included pedometers and accelerometers. In addition, the measure of six step approach was used to evaluate the impact of motivational workshops on lifestyle modification to increase physical activity.
Results: The main components of motivational workshops were onsite physical activity sessions and telephone counseling sessions. All studies reported that lifestyle modification workshops resulted in increased aerobic physical activity. In addition, the motivational workshops had a positive impact on background correlates of physical activity including decreased body weight, decreased blood pressure, decreased blood sugar level, increased quality of life, increased physical functioning, and increased social interaction. Similarly, the motivational workshops had a positive impact on intrapersonal correlates of physical activity that included increased self-efficacy for physical activity and increased motivation to be more physically active.
Conclusion: Motivational workshops have a positive impact on lifestyle modification for increasing physical activity. Motivational workshops need to focus on personal as well community awareness about the positive impact of lifestyle modification for lowering the risk of chronic preventable illnesses, healthy weight management, mental and emotional wellbeing. Six-step approach that focuses on creativity in incorporating physical activity in a person’s daily routine, is found to be effective for the motivational workshops in successfully resulting in positive lifestyle behavior modification in increasing physical activity and healthy nutrition. The six-step approach includes: a) building a partnership, b) negotiating an agenda, c) assessing resistance and motivation, d) enhancing mutual understanding, e) implementing a plan, and f) following through. Healthcare professionals need to change their professional approach from giving information and advice to acting as a motivational guide for patients. Findings from these studies will be utilized in designing the motivational workshops for the clinical settings for lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity.
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