Background: The study examined the effectiveness of primary-care counseling using a 2-pronged intervention to increase physical activity (PA) in a southeastern US city.
Methods: Two hundred thirty-seven patients were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups (experimental [counseling and educational map], control group #1 [counseling only], or control #2 [standard care]) to identify PA differences. The experimental group received physician counseling and an educational map highlighting accessible recreational facilities within a 2-mile radius of the health center.
Results: Patients in the experimental group increased their weekly PA in comparison with patients in the controls. Significant differences were observed for patients between groups for PA (F = 7.648, df 3,423, P = .000), PA x visits interaction (F = 5.500, df 3,423, P = .001), and the PA x group interaction (F = 3.068, df 6,848, P = .006).
Conclusions: This approach can perhaps increase the PA levels of underserved adults.