송 희 영

연세대학교 원주의과대학 간호학과

Background: Lifetime risk of stroke increases in women aged 45 years and older as risk factors such as physical inactivity and hypercholesterolemia worsen with ageing. For inactive women, beginning physical activity and eating a healthy diet are crucial in preventing stroke. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a brief intervention promoting a stroke prevention lifestyle (improving physical activity and diet self-management) among women in the preaction stage of regular physical activity. Methods: Through a convenient sampling of community cultural centers and churches in two urban areas, 40 participants were selected for this time-series nonequivalent control group study. The intervention used mainly the process of change for the preaction stage, focusing on encouraging participants to move to the next stage and incorporate physical activity and healthy eating changes into their lifestyle. Twenty participants were assigned to one of two groups and completed the pre-, 4-week and 12-week post-intervention measurements including stage of physical activity, knowledge of stroke, decisional balance and self-efficacy in physical activity, and diet self-management. Results: The stage of physical activity and stroke knowledge showed significant interactions between groups and times and self-report measures of all study variables improved in the experimental group after the intervention. Conclusions: A brief intervention using the process of change for the preaction stage may contribute to reducing the risk of stroke in women not participating in regular physical activity. Further studies are warranted to refine and validate intervention strategies for diet self-management and other lifestyle risk factors as well.
Korean J Health Promot 2010;10(2):86-96 Key Words: Stroke, Women, Physical activity, Primary prevention, Preaction stage