Promoting physical activity participation among adolescents: The barriers and the suggestions

Abstract

Background:  Physical activity is a complex behavior. To designing the effective intervention, qualitative researches may be allowed for greater understanding of the reasons behind the adolescences’ physical activity‑related behaviors’.

Methods: Using the grounded theory approach, including semi‑structured focus group discussions  (FGDs) and in‑depth interviews, we conducted a quantitative study to elicit the adolescents and key informants’ opinion regarding the satiation, needs, social and environmental barriers of adolescents’ physical activity. For FGDs, participants were selected from volunteered adolescent (aged 10–19 years) of the populated western part of Tehran, which was selected as a research field. Key informants were invited from the health professionals and experts in the field of adolescents’ health.

Results: According to findings, although the majority of participants agreed on the important role of physical activity, the lack of essential motivation and the pressure of educational assignments remove it from the daily program priorities. Lack of a safe environment for girls’ physical activity and high cost of professional sports were two first mentioned barriers. It was also suggested that future interventions should focus on improving more parents’ engagement and their direct participation in physical activities with their adolescents.

Conclusions: We proposed the participatory strategies for adolescent’s physical activity promotion. Through which target groups participation during the designing, development, and implementation of health programs led to more effective interventions.

Keywords: Adolescents, barriers, Iran, needs, physical activity