Keywords
environmental and public health
exercise
Rural
How to Cite
Abstract
The presence of stray dogs is a perceived barrier that may lead to lower physical activity levels, especially in rural areas. Gender may play a role in this relationship. Linear regression was used to assess relationships between physical activity days per week, stray dogs, and gender using the Rural Eastern Louisiana Food Accessibility and Active Transportation survey (N = 677). Potentially confounding covariates were controlled in analyses, including race, education, age, self-rated health, and poverty. Findings revealed that gender but not stray dogs was related to physical activity, with men averaging one more physical activity day per week than women. However, men with concerns about stray dogs reported significantly fewer physical activity days per week compared to men without such concerns. Reported physical activity days per week for women did not differ according to stray dog concerns. Rural men may be more impacted by concerns about stray dogs because they may be more likely to engage in solitary neighborhood-based physical activity. Policy implications include enforcement of leash laws and mobile spay/neuter clinic access in rural communities. Mitigating the threat of loose dogs would remove a barrier to physical activity in rural communities and help to ameliorate rural health disparities, especially among men.
References
Abildso, C. G., Daily, S. M., Meyer, M. R. U., Edwards, M. B., Jacobs, L., McClendon, M., Perry, C. K., & Roemmich, J. N. (2021). Environmental Factors Associated with Physical Activity in Rural U.S. Counties. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(14), Article 14. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147688
Aljabri, D. (2022). Associations Between Obesity, Physical Inactivity, Healthcare Capacity, and the Built Environment: Geographic Information System Analysis. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, 15, 689–704. https://doi.org/10.2147/JMDH.S345458
Bauman, A. E., & Richards, J. A. (2022). Understanding of the Single-Item Physical Activity Question for Population Surveillance. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 19(10), 681–686. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2022-0369
Boersma, P., Black, L. I., & Ward, B. W. (2020). Prevalence of Multiple Chronic Conditions Among US Adults, 2018. Preventing Chronic Disease, 17, E106. https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd17.200130
Bopp, M., Lattimore, D., Wilcox, S., Laken, M., McClorin, L., Swinton, R., Gethers, O., & Bryant, D. (2007). Understanding physical activity participation in members of an African American church: A qualitative study. Health Education Research, 22(6), 815–826. https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyl149
Cadmus-Bertram, L. A., Gorzelitz, J. S., Dorn, D. C., & Malecki, K. M. C. (2020). Understanding the physical activity needs and interests of inactive and active rural women: A cross-sectional study of barriers, opportunities, and intervention preferences. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 43(4), 638–647. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-019-00070-z
Callaghan, T., Ferdinand, A. O., Akinlotan, M. A., Towne Jr., S. D., & Bolin, J. (2020). The Changing Landscape of Diabetes Mortality in the United States Across Region and Rurality, 1999-2016. The Journal of Rural Health, 36(3), 410–415. https://doi.org/10.1111/jrh.12354
Chrisman, M., Nothwehr, F., Yang, G., & Oleson, J. (2015). Environmental Influences on Physical Activity in Rural Midwestern Adults: A Qualitative Approach. Health Promotion Practice, 16(1), 142–148. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839914524958
Davis, J. (2019). Black faces, black spaces: Rethinking African American underrepresentation in wildland spaces and outdoor recreation. Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 2(1), 89–109. https://doi.org/10.1177/2514848618817480
DeGuzman, P. B., Chu, C., & Keim-Malpass, J. (2019). Built and Natural Environment Barriers and Facilitators to Physical Activity in Rural, Suburban, and Small Urban Neighborhoods. Oncology Nursing Forum, 46(5), 545–555. https://doi.org/10.1188/19.ONF.545-555
Dugani, S. B., Mielke, M. M., & Vella, A. (2021). Burden and management of type 2 diabetes in rural United States. Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews, 37(5), e3410. https://doi.org/10.1002/dmrr.3410
Evans, L. K. (2011). Rural Black women’s thoughts about exercise. Applied Nursing Research: ANR, 24(4), 200–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2009.09.005
Farhoody, P., Mallawaarachchi, I., Tarwater, P. M., Serpell, J. A., Duffy, D. L., & Zink, C. (2018). Aggression toward Familiar People, Strangers, and Conspecifics in Gonadectomized and Intact Dogs. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 5. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2018.00018
Fritz, M. S., & Arthur, A. M. (2017). Moderator Variables. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.86
Gennuso, K. P. (2016). Assessment of Factors Contributing to Health Outcomes in the Eight States of the Mississippi Delta Region. Preventing Chronic Disease, 13. https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd13.150440
Gilbert, A. S., Duncan, D. D., Beck, A. M., Eyler, A. A., & Brownson, R. C. (2019, June 23). A Qualitative Study Identifying Barriers and Facilitators of Physical Activity in Rural Communities [Research Article]. Journal of Environmental and Public Health; Hindawi. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/7298692
Hansen, A. Y., Umstattd Meyer, M. R., Lenardson, J. D., & Hartley, D. (2015). Built Environments and Active Living in Rural and Remote Areas: A Review of the Literature. Current Obesity Reports, 4(4), 484–493. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-015-0180-9
Holston, D., Stroope, J., Cater, M., Kendall, M., & Broyles, S. T. (2020). Implementing Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change Through Community Coalitions and Extension Partnerships to Address Obesity in Rural Louisiana. Preventing Chronic Disease, 17. https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd17.190284
Hughes, J., & Macdonald, D. W. (2013). A review of the interactions between free-roaming domestic dogs and wildlife. Biological Conservation, 157, 341–351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2012.07.005
Jilcott Pitts, S. B., Keyserling, T. C., Johnston, L. F., Smith, T. W., McGuirt, J. T., Evenson, K. R., Rafferty, A. P., Gizlice, Z., Garcia, B. A., & Ammerman, A. S. (2015). Associations between neighborhood-level factors related to a healthful lifestyle and dietary intake, physical activity, and support for obesity prevention polices among rural adults. Journal of Community Health, 40(2), 276–284. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-014-9927-6
Joseph, R. P., Ainsworth, B. E., Keller, C., & Dodgson, J. E. (2015). Barriers to Physical Activity Among African American Women: An Integrative Review of the Literature. Women & Health, 55(6), 679–699. https://doi.org/10.1080/03630242.2015.1039184
King, A. C., Castro, C., Wilcox, S., Eyler, A. A., Sallis, J. F., & Brownson, R. C. (2000). Personal and environmental factors associated with physical inactivity among different racial-ethnic groups of U.S. middle-aged and older-aged women. Health Psychology: Official Journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association, 19(4), 354–364. https://doi.org/10.1037//0278-6133.19.4.354
LaVallee, E., Mueller, M. K., & McCobb, E. (2017). A Systematic Review of the Literature Addressing Veterinary Care for Underserved Communities. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 20(4), 381–394. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2017.1337515
Ndirangu, M., Perkins, H., Yadrick, K., West, J. R., Bogle, M. L., Avis-Williams, A., Santell, R., & Connell, C. L. (2007). Conducting needs assessment using the comprehensive participatory planning and evaluation model to develop nutrition and physical activity interventions in a rural community in the Mississippi delta. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 1(1), 41–48. https://doi.org/10.1353/cpr.0.0005
Payne, B. K., Berg, B. L., & Sun, I. Y. (2005). Policing in small town America: Dogs, drunks, disorder, and dysfunction. Journal of Criminal Justice, 33(1), 31–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2004.10.006
Perry, C. K., Rosenfeld, A. G., & Kendall, J. (2008). Rural Women Walking for Health: Western Journal of Nursing Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193945907303036
Sallis, J. F., Cervero, R. B., Ascher, W., Henderson, K. A., Kraft, M. K., & Kerr, J. (2006). An ecological approach to creating active living communities. Annual Review of Public Health, 27, 297–322. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.27.021405.102100
Sanderson, B., Littleton, M., & Pulley, L. V. (2002). Environmental, Policy, and Cultural Factors Related to Physical Activity Among Rural, African American Women. Women & Health, 36(2), 73–88. https://doi.org/10.1300/J013v36n02_06
Seals, K., Stroope, J., Freightman, J., Ainsworth, L., Moles, A., & Holston, D. (2022). Empty Houses, Loose Dogs, and Engaged Citizens: Lessons Learned From Community Participatory Data Collection in Rural Areas. Health Promotion Practice, 23(1_suppl), 140S-148S. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248399221111181
Singh, G. K., Daus, G. P., Allender, M., Ramey, C. T., Martin, E. K., Perry, C., Reyes, A. A. D. L., & Vedamuthu, I. P. (2017). Social Determinants of Health in the United States: Addressing Major Health Inequality Trends for the Nation, 1935-2016. International Journal of MCH and AIDS, 6(2), 139–164. https://doi.org/10.21106/ijma.236
Strong, L. L., Reitzel, L. R., Wetter, D. W., & McNeill, L. H. (2013). Associations of perceived neighborhood physical and social environments with physical activity and television viewing in African-American men and women. American Journal of Health Promotion: AJHP, 27(6), 401–409. https://doi.org/10.4278/ajhp.120306-QUAN-127
Stroope, J., Umstattd Meyer, M. R., Gabbert, K., John, D. H., Kellstedt, D., Orzech, K. M., & Wende, M. E. (2024). Physical Activity Policy, Systems, and Environment Change Through Extension SNAP-Ed: A Multistate Perspective. Health Promotion Practice, 15248399231221779. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248399231221779
Thompson, J. L., Allen, P., Cunningham-Sabo, L., Yazzie, D. A., Curtis, M., & Davis, S. M. (2002). Environmental, policy, and cultural factors related to physical activity in sedentary American Indian women. Women & Health, 36(2), 59–74. https://doi.org/10.1300/j013v36n02_05
Umstattd Meyer, M. R., Moore, J. B., Abildso, C., Edwards, M. B., Gamble, A., & Baskin, M. L. (2016). Rural Active Living: A Call to Action. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice: JPHMP, 22(5), E11-20. https://doi.org/10.1097/PHH.0000000000000333
van Uffelen, J. G. Z., Khan, A., & Burton, N. W. (2017). Gender differences in physical activity motivators and context preferences: A population-based study in people in their sixties. BMC Public Health, 17(1), 624. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4540-0
Whitfield, G. P. (2019). Trends in Meeting Physical Activity Guidelines Among Urban and Rural Dwelling Adults—United States, 2008–2017. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 68. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6823a1
Whitfield, G. P., Carlson, S. A., Ussery, E. N., Watson, K. B., Berrigan, D., & Fulton, J. E. (2019). National-level environmental perceptions and walking among urban and rural residents: Informing surveillance of walkability. Preventive Medicine, 123, 101–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.03.019
Whitfield, G. P., Carlson, S. A., Ussery, E. N., Watson, K. B., Brown, D. R., Berrigan, D., & Fulton, J. E. (2018). Racial and ethnic differences in perceived safety barriers to walking, United States National Health Interview Survey – 2015. Preventive Medicine, 114, 57–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.06.003
Wilbur, J., Chandler, P. J., Dancy, B., & Lee, H. (2003). Correlates of physical activity in urban Midwestern African-American women. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 25(3, Supplement 1), 45–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-3797(03)00164-8
Wilcox, S., Castro, C., King, A. C., Housemann, R., & Brownson, R. C. (2000). Determinants of leisure time physical activity in rural compared with urban older and ethnically diverse women in the United States. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 54(9), 667–672. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.54.9.667
Wilcox, S., Oberrecht, L., Bopp, M., Kammermann, S. K., & McElmurray, C. T. (2005). A Qualitative Study of Exercise in Older African American and White Women in Rural South Carolina: Perceptions, Barriers, and Motivations. Journal of Women & Aging, 17(1–2), 37–53. https://doi.org/10.1300/J074v17n01_04
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2025 Jessica Stroope, Laura E. Balis, Alex C. Garn, Katherine Seals, Denise Holston