Zooming In and Out of Programming: Developing an Approach to Trauma-and Violence-Informed Physical Activity “Post-Pandemic”
Zooming In and Out of Programming
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33043/z6c9ayb6Keywords:
COVID-19, equity-deserving, service providers, physical activity, social services, online servicesAbstract
Researchers have found that physical activity is an effective health promotion tool due to its positive effect on wellbeing, however, despite the overwhelming evidence on the benefits of physical activity, many structural and systemic inequities exist that affect access and uptake particularly for women. These barriers have been exacerbated over the last few years as conditions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic has made engagement in physical activity even more difficult for equity-deserving populations. Community organizations have reported an increase in gender-based violence and a strain on support services. In this qualitative research study, we present findings that demonstrated how COVID-19 complicated the delivery of in-person programs for equity-deserving populations. Using a feminist participatory action research approach, community-specific barriers to physical activity from the perspectives of individuals who deliver physical activity programming and social services to self-identified women were generated in three themes using thematic analysis: 1) Increased Need, Decreased Services; 2) Online Service Provision was Not Effective for Clients or Providers; 3) Physical Activity was Not Deemed an “Essential Service”-Transitioning from Survival Mode to a New Normal. Taken together, findings underlined the importance of effective and sustainable resources and strategies to improve access for women to engage in physical activity programs.
Downloads
References
Abrams, J. A., Tabaac, A., Jung, S., & Else-Quest, N. M. (2020). Considerations for employing
intersectionality in qualitative health research. Social Science & Medicine, 258, 113138.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113138
Ball, K., Carver, A., Downing, K., Jackson, M., & O’Rourke, K. (2015). Addressing the social
determinants of inequities in physical activity and sedentary behaviours. Health
Promotion International, 30, ii8–ii19. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/dav022
Brakefield, W. S., Olusanya, O. A., White, B., & Shaban-Nejad, A. (2022). Social Determinants
and Indicators of COVID-19 Among Marginalized Communities: A Scientific Review
and Call to Action for Pandemic Response and Recovery. Disaster Medicine and Public
Health Preparedness, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2022.104
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in
Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2019). Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis. Qualitative Research
in Sport, Exercise and Health, 11(4), 589–597.
https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1628806
Cheval, B., Sivaramakrishnan, H., Maltagliati, S., Fessler, L., Forestier, C., Sarrazin, P.,
Orsholits, D., Chalabaev, A., Sander, D., Ntoumanis, N., & Boisgontier, M. P. (2021).
Relationships between changes in self-reported physical activity, sedentary behaviour and health during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in France and Switzerland. Journal of Sports Sciences, 39(6), 699–704. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2020.1841396
Cleland, C. L., Tully, M. A., Kee, F., & Cupples, M. E. (2012). The effectiveness of physical
activity interventions in socio-economically disadvantaged communities: A systematic
review. Preventive Medicine, 54(6), 371–380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2012.04.004
Craike, M., Wiesner, G., Hilland, T. A., & Bengoechea, E. G. (2018). Interventions to improve
physical activity among socioeconomically disadvantaged groups: an umbrella
review. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 15(1), 1-11.
Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique
of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 140(1), 139-167.
Crotty, M. (1998). The foundations of social research. SAGE.
Darroch, F. E., Roett, C., Varcoe, C., Oliffe, J. L., & Gonzalez Montaner, G. (2020). Trauma
informed approaches to physical activity: A scoping study. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 41, 101224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2020.101224
Darroch, F., Varcoe, C., Hillsburg, H., Webb, J., & Roberts, C. (2022). Supportive Movement:
Tackling Barriers to Physical Activity for Pregnant and Parenting Individuals who have
Experienced Trauma. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health, 41(1), 18–34.
https://doi.org/10.7870/cjcmh-2022-002
Dlamini, N. J. (2021). Gender-Based Violence, Twin Pandemic to COVID-19. Critical
Sociology, 47(4–5), 583–590. https://doi.org/10.1177/0896920520975465
Faraji, S., Ghayour Najafabadi, M., Rostad, M., & Anastasio, A. T. (2020). The effect of
COVID-19 quarantine on physical and social parameters of physical education providers and youth sport coaches. Work, 67(4), 767–769. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-203329
Faulkner, J., O’Brien, W. J., McGrane, B., Wadsworth, D., Batten, J., Askew, C. D., Badenhorst,
C., Byrd, E., Coulter, M., Draper, N., Elliot, C., Fryer, S., Hamlin, M. J., Jakeman, J.,
Mackintosh, K. A., McNarry, M. A., Mitchelmore, A., Murphy, J., Ryan-Stewart, H., …
Lambrick, D. (2021). Physical activity, mental health and well-being of adults during initial
COVID-19 containment strategies: A multi-country cross-sectional analysis. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 24(4), 320–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2020.11.016
Fearnbach, S. N., Flanagan, E. W., Höchsmann, C., Beyl, R. A., Altazan, A. D., Martin, C. K., &
Redman, L. M. (2021). Factors Protecting against a Decline in Physical Activity during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 53(7), 1391–1399.
https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000002602
Frisby, W. M., Reid, C., & Ponic, P. (2007). Levelling the Playing Field: Promoting the Health
of Poor Women Through a Community Development Approach to Recreation. In P. White & Young (Eds.), Sport and Gender in Canada (pp. 121–136). Oxford University Press.
Frisby, W., Reid, C. J., Millar, S., & Hoeber, L. (2005). Putting “Participatory” into Participatory
Forms of Action Research. Journal of Sport Management, 19(4), 367–386.
https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.19.4.367
Gammage, K. L., van Ingen, C., & Angrish, K. (2022). Measuring the Effects of the Shape Your
Life Project on the Mental and Physical Health Outcomes of Survivors of Gender-Based
Violence. Violence Against Women, 28(11), 2722–2741.
https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012211038966
Gervais, M., Weber, S., & Caron, C. (2018). Guide pour faire de la recherche féministe
participative. Institut Genre, sexualité et féminisme (IGSF), Université McGill.
Government of Canada. (2022). Guide on equity, diversity and inclusion terminology.
Hayhurst, L. M. C., Giles, A. R., & Radforth, W. M. (2015). ‘I want to come here to prove them
wrong’: Using a post-colonial feminist participatory action research (PFPAR) approach to studying sport, gender and development programmes for urban Indigenous young women. Sport in Society, 18(8), 952–967. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2014.997585
Hsu, L.-C., & Henke, A. (2021). COVID-19, staying at home, and domestic violence. Review of
Economics of the Household, 19(1), 145–155. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11150-020-09526-7
Jatmiko, M. I., Syukron, Muh., & Mekarsari, Y. (2020). Covid-19, Harassment and Social
Media: A Study of Gender-Based Violence Facilitated by Technology During the Pandemic. The Journal of Society and Media, 4(2), 319. https://doi.org/10.26740/jsm.v4n2.p319-347
Kantamneni, N. (2020). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on marginalized populations in
the United States: A research agenda. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 119, 103439.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103439
Loeb, T. B., Ebor, M. T., Smith, A. M., Chin, D., Novacek, D. M., Hampton-Anderson, J. N.
Norwood-Scott, E., Hamilton, A. B., Brown, A. F., & Wyatt, G. E. (2021). How mental health professionals can address disparities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Traumatology,
(1), 60–69. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000292
Lund, E. M. (2021). Even more to handle: Additional sources of stress and trauma for clients
from marginalized racial and ethnic groups in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 34(3–4), 321–330.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2020.1766420
Marashi, M. Y., Nicholson, E., Ogrodnik, M., Fenesi, B., & Heisz, J. J. (2021). A mental health
paradox: Mental health was both a motivator and barrier to physical activity during the COVID 19 pandemic. PLOS ONE, 16(4), e0239244. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239244
Martínez, M. E., Nodora, J. N., & Carvajal‐Carmona, L. G. (2021). The dual pandemic of
COVID‐19 and systemic inequities in US Latino communities. Cancer, 127(10), 1548-1550.
Mazza, M., Marano, G., Lai, C., Janiri, L., & Sani, G. (2020). Danger in danger: Interpersonal
violence during COVID-19 quarantine. Psychiatry Research, 289, 113046.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113046
McKeon, G., Curtis, J., & Rosenbaum, S. (2022). Promoting physical activity for mental health:
An updated evidence review and practical guide. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 35(4).
Mendoza-Vasconez, A. S., Linke, S., Muñoz, M., Pekmezi, D., Ainsworth, C., Cano, M.,
Williams, V., Marcus, B. H., & Larsen, B. A. (2016). Promoting physical activity among
underserved populations. Current Sports Medicine Reports, 15(4), 290–297.
https://doi.org/10.1249/JSR.0000000000000276
Moore, L. V., Roux, A. V. D., Evenson, K. R., McGinn, A. P., & Brines, S. J. (2008).
Availability of recreational resources in minority and low socioeconomic status areas. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 34(1), 16-22.
Palladino, E., Darroch, F., Jean-Pierre, L., Kelly, M., Roberts, C., & Hayhurst, L. (2022).
Landscape of practice: A participatory approach to creating a trauma- and violence-informed physical activity social learning space. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2022.2146163
Parry, B. R., & Gordon, E. (2021). The shadow pandemic: Inequitable gendered impacts of
COVID‐19 in South Africa. Gender, Work & Organization, 28(2), 795–806.
https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12565
Payne, R. (2021). Will the COVID-19 outbreak propel the demand for active spaces or scare the
public away? Cities & Health, 5(sup1), S200–S203.
https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2020.1790259
Pebole, M., Singleton, C., Hall, K., Petruzzello, S., Alston, R., & Gobin, R. (2022). Exercise
preferences among women survivors of sexual violence by PTSD and physical activity level: Implications and recommendations for trauma-informed practice. Mental Health and Physical Activity, 23, 100470. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2022.100470
Polero, P., Rebollo-Seco, C., Adsuar, J. C., Pérez-Gómez, J., Rojo-Ramos, J., Manzano
Redondo, F., Garcia-Gordillo, M. Á., & Carlos-Vivas, J. (2020). Physical Activity
Recommendations during COVID-19: Narrative Review. International Journal of
Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(1), 65. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18010065
Rebar, A. L., Stanton, R., Geard, D., Short, C., Duncan, M. J., & Vandelanotte, C. (2015). A
meta-meta-analysis of the effect of physical activity on depression and anxiety in non-clinical adult populations. Health Psychology Review, 9(3), 366–378.
https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2015.1022901
Reid, C., Tom, A., & Frisby, W. (2006). Finding the ‘action’ in feminist participatory action
research. Action Research, 4(3), 315–332. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476750306066804
Reiner, M., Niermann, C., Jekauc, D., & Woll, A. (2013). Long-term health benefits of physical
activity – a systematic review of longitudinal studies. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 813.
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-813
Sri, A. S., Das, P., Gnanapragasam, S., & Persaud, A. (2021). COVID-19 and the violence
against women and girls: ‘The shadow pandemic.’ International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 67(8), 971–973. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764021995556
Tao, C., Zhu, L., Strudwick, G., Hopkins, J., Bennington, M., Fitzpatrick, S., Sachdeva, H.,
Vanderlinden, L., Mushquash, C. J., Bobos, P., Bodmer, N. S., Perkhun, A., Born, K. B., & Mah, L. (2022). The Impact of Physical Activity on Mental Health Outcomes during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table.
https://doi.org/10.47326/ocsat.2022.03.62.1.0
Thorpe, H., Jeffrey, A., & Fullagar, S. (2023). Re-turning to fitness ‘riskscapes’ post lockdown:
Feminist materialisms, wellbeing and affective respondings in Aotearoa New Zealand. Gender, Place & Culture, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2023.2195132
Thorpe, H., Jeffrey, A., Fullagar, S., & Ahmad, N. (2022). “We seek those moments of
togetherness”: Digital intimacies, virtual touch, and becoming a community in pandemic times. Feminist Media Studies, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2022.2112738
Trainor, L. R., & Bundon, A. (2021). Developing the craft: Reflexive accounts of doing reflexive thematic analysis. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 13(5), 705–726.
https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2020.1840423
Varcoe, C., Ford-Gilboe, M., Browne, A. J., Perrin, N., Bungay, V., McKenzie, H., Smye, V.,
Price (Elder), R., Inyallie, J., Khan, K., & Dion Stout, M. (2021). The Efficacy of a Health Promotion Intervention for Indigenous Women: Reclaiming Our Spirits. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(13–14), NP7086–NP7116.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260518820818
Watson, M. F., Bacigalupe, G., Daneshpour, M., Han, W., & Parra‐Cardona, R. (2020). COVID
Interconnectedness: Health Inequity, the Climate Crisis, and Collective Trauma. Family Process, 59(3), 832–846. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12572
Wilke, N. G., Howard, A. H., & Pop, D. (2020). Data-informed recommendations for services
providers working with vulnerable children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Child Abuse & Neglect, 110, 104642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104642
Williams, E. E., Arant, K. R., Leifer, V. P., Balcom, M. C., Levy-Carrick, N. C., Lewis
O’Connor, A., & Katz, J. N. (2021). Provider perspectives on the provision of safe, equitable, trauma-informed care for intimate partner violence survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study. BMC Women’s Health, 21(1), 315. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-021-014609
Withall, J., Jago, R., & Fox, K. R. (2011). Why some do but most don’t. Barriers and enablers to
engaging low-income groups in physical activity programmes: A mixed methods study. BMC Public Health, 11(1), 507–507. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-507
Wood, L., Schrag, R. V., Baumler, E., Hairston, D., Guillot-Wright, S., Torres, E., & Temple, J.
R. (2022). On the Front Lines of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Occupational Experiences of the Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Assault Workforce. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(11–12), NP9345–NP9366. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520983304
World Health Organization. (n.d.). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Candace Roberts, Dr. Francine Darroch, Dr. Lyndsay Hayhurst
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
