Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

College of Applied Human Sciences

Department

Sport and Exercise Psychology

Committee Chair

Sam Zizzi

Committee Co-Chair

Nancy O'Hara Tompkins

Committee Member

Peter Giacobbi

Committee Member

Eloise Elliott

Abstract

Developing physical activity interventions that reach underserved populations and increase equitable access requires knowledge of health equity (Bantham et al., 2021). Thus, as funding organizations push for use of community engaged approaches, it becomes important to gauge what community leaders know about health equity. The present study employed surveys and semi-structured interviews to explore community partners’ understanding and perceptions of health equity, as well as benefits and barriers to promoting health equity in their communities. Participants (n = 20) were capacity-building grant applicants recruited through the Center for ActiveWV. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to develop two higher order themes: knowledge and framing. Knowledge helped us understand how participants learned about health equity, the personal and professional impact of learning about health equity, the depth of their understanding, and how they are working to increase access to PA. Framing focuses on the barriers that may impede health equity promotion, but also provides ways to generate buy-in and promotional approaches. These results have practical implications for organizations at the national and state level who partner with communities to increase equitable PA access.

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