Perceptions and factors influencing the intention to do regular physical activities for the prevention of osteoporosis among Iranian working women

Abstract

Purpose Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease and a growing global health problem. It is estimated that about 200m people are suffering from this disease in the world. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the perceptions and factors influencing the intention to do regular physical activities in order to prevent osteoporosis in Iranian Muslim working women. Design/methodology/approach The present cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 217 women employed in a university in Iran. The tool for data collection was a researcher-made questionnaire that had gone through validity and reliability processes. The data analysis was done using SPSS ver. 19 software as well as statistical descriptive and analytical tests. Findings The majority of participants were aged 30–39 (50.7 percent) and the least ones were 40 years old (24.4 percent). In total, 67.7 percent of the participants were married. Also, 77 percent of the participants had religious belief on the duty to do strong physical activities, and 83 percent had intention to do physical activities. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the mean scores of self-efficacy and the mean scores of religious belief between the women with and without having intention to do physical activities (p<0.01). Originality/value Regarding the relationship that self-efficacy and religious belief had with the intention to do physical activities in women employees, the need to address this issue through educational programming with the focus on self-efficacy and religious culture seems to find priority.