Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Department of Health Education and Health Promotion , Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3 Department of Neonatology, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran
Abstract
Background: To prepare for future personal, family, and social responsibilities, young girls need to promote and maintain their health. Since physical activity has an effective role in maintaining women’s health, the present study aimed to examine the factors affecting the physical activity of female high school students.
Methods: The participants in this qualitative grounded theory study were 20 female high school students living in District 20 in Tehran in 2021. The students were selected using purposive sampling. The data were collected using individual interviews and focus groups. The collected data were analyzed using the constant comparative method with MAXQDA-10 software.
Results: The results showed that psychological, individual, environmental, educational, social, economic, and family factors were effective in the physical activity of female high school students. The identified factors were used to develop a conceptual model for the factors affecting the physical activity of female students. The extracted factors were further divided into some subcategories including sports facilities, gender discrimination, community management views on sports, physical health, interests, educational facilities, knowledge and information, time management, and women’s limitations.
Conclusion: The findings from the present study showed that several factors can affect the physical activity of female students. These factors should be taken into account when developing and implementing educational interventions and plans to promote physical activity in female students.
Keywords
- Rahmati-Najarkolaei F, Tavafian SS, Gholami Fesharaki M, Jafari MR. Factors predicting nutrition and physical activity behaviors due to cardiovascular disease in Tehran university students: application of health belief model. Iran Red Crescent Med J. 2015;17(3):e18879. doi: 10.5812/ircmj.18879.
- World Health Organization (WHO). 2008-2013 Action Plan for the Global Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO; 2014. Available from: https://Www.Who.Int/Publications/I/ Item/9789241506236.
- Bashiri Moosavi F, Farmanbar R, Taghdisi M, Atrkar Roshan Z. Level of physical activity among girl high school students in Tarom county and relevant factors. Iran J Health Educ Health Promot. 2015;3(2):133-40.
- Sport England. Active Lives Children and Young People Survey: Academic Year 2018-19. 2019. Available from: https:// sportengland-production-files.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws. com/s3fs-public/active-lives-children-survey-academic-year-18-19.pdf.
- Steene-Johannessen J, Hansen BH, Dalene KE, Kolle E, Northstone K, Møller NC, et al. Variations in accelerometry measured physical activity and sedentary time across Europe - harmonized analyses of 47,497 children and adolescents. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2020;17(1):38. doi: 10.1186/s12966- 020-00930-x.
- Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). 2019. Available from: https://Assets.Publishing.Service.Gov.Uk/ Government/Uploads/System/Uploads/Attachment_Data/ File/832868/Uk-Chief-Medical-Officers-Physical-Activity- Guidelines.
- Sport England. This Girl Can. 2020. Available from: https:// www.sportengland.org/funds-and-campaigns/this-girl-can.
- O’Reilly M, Wiltshire G, Kiyimba N, Harrington D. “Is everybody comfortable?” Thinking through co-design approaches to better support girls’ physical activity in schools. Qual Res Sport Exerc Health. 2023;15(2):248-63. doi: 10.1080/2159676x.2022.2083663.
- Mohamadian H, Eftekhar Ardebili H, Kordzanganeh J. Factors affecting physical activity in female high school students: A study based on the health promotion model using path analysis approach. Payesh. 2015;14(2):205-15. [Persian].
- Amiri P, Ghofranipour F, Ahmadi FA, Hooman H, Hosseinpanah F, Jalali-Farahani S. Personal barriers to life style modification in overweight/obese adolescents: a qualitative study. Iran J Endocrinol Metab. 2010;11(5):521-9. [Persian].
- Denzin NK, Lincoln YS. The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research: SAGE Publications; 2014.
- Hennink M, Hutter I, Bailey A. Qualitative Research Methods. SAGE Publications; 2020.
- McGarty AM, Melville CA. Parental perceptions of facilitators and barriers to physical activity for children with intellectual disabilities: a mixed methods systematic review. Res Dev Disabil. 2018;73:40-57. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2017.12.007.
- Hosseini SV, Anoosheh M, Abbaszadeh A, Ehsani M. Causal conditions of adolescent girls’ tendency toward physical activities. J Qual Res Health Sci. 2014;3(4):331-9. [Persian].
- Alcántara-Porcuna V, Sánchez-López M, Martínez-Vizcaíno V, Martínez-Andrés M, Ruiz-Hermosa A, Rodríguez-Martín B. Parents’ perceptions on barriers and facilitators of physical activity among schoolchildren: a qualitative study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(6):3086. doi: 10.3390/ ijerph18063086.
- El Masri A, Kolt GS, George ES. A systematic review of qualitative studies exploring the factors influencing the physical activity levels of Arab migrants. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2021;18(1):2. doi: 10.1186/s12966-020-01056-w.
- Hamidzadeh Sani ZS, Pooraghaei Z, Salman Z. Using ecological approach to prediction girls` physical activity. Research in Sport Management and Motor Behavior. 2019;9(17):117-28. doi: 10.29252/jrsm.9.17.117. [Persian].
- Zameni L, Bahram A, Khalaji H, Ghadiri F, Hasani SG. The level of physical activity of female junior high school students in Mazandaran, Iran, in 2017 and its relationship with socioeconomic status. J Community Health Res. 2018;7(1):11- 7.
- Manoochehrinejad M, Hematinejad MA, Sharifian E, Rahmaty MM. Exploration of the background factors of family, peers, school, and media in the internalization of sports culture in children and adolescents: a qualitative study. J Qual Res Health Sci. 2016;5(1):83-95. [Persian].
- Zare E, Simbar M, Shahhoseini Z. Explaining the concept of self-care in adolescents. J Qual Res Health Sci. 2016;5(4):395- 405. [Persian].
)