Explaining long-term exercise adherence in women who complete a structured exercise program.

The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine factors related to physical activity adherence to understand why women continue to participate in long-term exercise after completing a structured exercise program. Data were collected from focus groups, interviews, and e-mails, and analysis used grounded theory. The central category related to physical activity adherence was self-worth. Motivation, activity enjoyment, priorities, body image, ability to access support, and self-regulation skills had an impact on the self-worth of nonadherers and adherers. Women must value themselves enough to continue to participate in physical activity once they start. Exercise and fitness professionals are encouraged to use strategies to increase self-worth and long-term adherence to physical activity. Some recommended strategies include (a) increasing motivation and enjoyment relative to activity, (b) making activity a high priority in a woman's life, (c) improving or deemphasizing body image, (d) increasing a woman's ability to access support, and (e) facilitating the use of self-regulation strategies. This study is the first to examine qualitative perspectives of exercise adherence among women who completed a structured exercise program. Several concepts related to adherence presented in the quantitative literature are confirmed and enhanced in this study.

Teaching at the secondary level: wisdom from veteran health educators.

This qualitative study explored factors that helped veteran public school health educators sustain enthusiasm in the classroom throughout their careers. Twelve Caucasian participants, seven men and five women with 18 to 28 years of public school teaching experience (mean age = 49 years, mean experience = 24 years), were interviewed. Participants were selected from teachers with at least 18 years experience who lived within 60 minutes of Salt Lake City, Utah. Semi-structured, individual interviews addressed four questions: Why did participants enter teaching? What are some challenges of teaching? What factors contribute to successful teaching? What factors contributed to participants' longevity in teaching? A decision to teach was based primarily on having an influential teacher. The greatest challenges were discipline and diversity. Factors related to successful teaching also contributed to longevity in teaching. These factors included staying current with information and technology, supportive colleagues, and sharing oneself with students and colleagues. Those interested in a teaching career, and those already invested in teaching, can learn from these veterans in terms of skills and values.

Sustaining enthusiasm in the classroom: reinvestment strategies that work.

OBJECTIVE: To identify reinvestment strategies of 11 senior health-education faculty from 3 degree programs. METHODS: Data from individual, in-depth interviews were inductively analyzed for content. RESULTS: The identified strategies grouped around 6 themes: growth and success in work, realization of an optimal fit into profession, investment into interpersonal relationships, focus on stimulating and uplifting experiences, pursuit of professional/personal balance, and problems and coping. CONCLUSIONS: Reinvestment is a very complex process that may be mediated by frequent experience of positive emotions. Further research needs to employ a positive perspective and investigate variables from different levels of analysis.