Recruitment strategies for black women at risk for noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus into exercise protocols: a qualitative assessment.

The literature is devoid of any specific data describing exercise therapy in blacks at risk for diabetes. The increasing and striking prevalence of obesity and diabetes among several indigenous populations demonstrates the unfortunate interplay between genetic predisposition and a "modern" sedentary lifestyle. Any successful intervention to reduce the risk of acquiring or attenuating the severity of diabetes must focus on behavioral, cultural, psychosocial, and social factors that are amenable to change. Thus, the objective of this study is to present qualitative data that can be useful in the recruitment of blacks into exercise protocols that could prove to be beneficial in preventing diabetes. Focus groups were conducted on 57 black women residing in Washington, DC, Columbia, Maryland, and Hartford, Connecticut. Barriers to exercising included lack of child care, lack of transportation, neighborhood constraints, and family. Incentives that would increase black women's ability to participate in an exercise protocols include transportation, child care, and an exercise environment that includes blacks.