Profile of adolescent users of physical activity programs offered in the Primary Health Care System

Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe the profile of adolescent users of interventions of physical activity promotion developed by the primary health care system in the state of Pernambuco. To do so, a state wide cross-sectional study was conducted, derived from the SUS+Ativo project, in which 80 adolescent users were recruited among the users of programs/interventions for physical activity promotion. A total of 112 municipalities were visited in 11 health management regionals in the state of Pernambuco. The data were collected through questionnaires including demographics, health perception and participation in interventions. Overall, 60% were aged between 15-19 years, 67.5% were girls, 83.3% responded to race as non-white and 68% resided in urban areas. Positive health perception was referred to by 77.5%, while 97.5% reported that participating in offered activities contributed to an increase in individual health. Also, 92.5% informed that the activities offered were the ones they would like to participate in and 37.5% reported health related factors as the main motive for participation, however, 18.8% mentioned current health condition as the main barrier for participation. It was observed that 39.2% of adolescents declared participating in physical activities in two days/week and that for 69.6% the sessions were 60 minutes or longer. The results of this study indicate that adolescent users of programs/interventions of physical activity promotion are heterogeneous in demographics, health characteristics and participation in the offered services.