Experiences of women in a minimal contact pedometer-based intervention: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Minimal contact pedometer-based interventions are gaining in popularity as a cost-effective method of promoting physical activity. The experiences of women in these interventions, however, have not been adequately studied.
PURPOSE: This study used focus groups to explore women's experiences in a minimal contact pedometer-based intervention.
METHODS: Participants were women aged 31 to 51 years who completed a 6-week minimal contact pedometer-based intervention. Before the intervention, all participants were inactive or irregularly active. For the intervention, participants wore pedometers, completed weekly logs of daily steps taken, created physical activity goals, and received weekly emails. Email messages contained strategies for increasing physical activity and served as reminders to wear the pedometer and submit the step logs. After the intervention, participants were invited to attend focus groups to discuss their experiences in the intervention. A generic qualitative research approach was used to analyze the data.
RESULTS: Wearing the pedometer helped participants set goals and motivated them to increase their physical activity. Submitting step logs made them accountable. They wanted more innovative tips in the emails for increasing physical activity. DISCUSSION: Our results suggest that the effectiveness of minimal contact interventions may be enhanced by including pedometers, step logs, and email reminders.