The “ripple effect”: Health and community perceptions of the Indigenous Marathon Program on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait, Australia

Issue addressed Physical inactivity is a key health risk among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) Australians. We examined perceptions of the Indigenous Marathon Program (IMP) in a remote Torres Strait island community. Methods Semi‐structured interviews with community and program st...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Health promotion journal of Australia 2018-12, Vol.29 (3), p.304-313
Main Authors:	Macniven, Rona, Plater, Suzanne, Canuto, Karla, Dickson, Michelle, Gwynn, Josephine, Bauman, Adrian, Richards, Justin
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	aboriginal and torres strait islanders Aboriginal Australians Adults Attitudes Barriers Behavioural changes Chronic illnesses Community Community participation Constraints Content analysis Cultural attitudes Data Data analysis Data processing Disease prevention Dogs Embarrassment Health behavior Health care Health care policy Health risks Health surveys Impact analysis Indigenous peoples Infrastructure Interest groups Islands Life expectancy Lifestyles Marathons Measurement Modelling Motivation Native peoples Norms Obesity Perceptions Physical activity Physical fitness Population program evaluation Qualitative analysis qualitative methods Qualitative research Quantitative analysis Quantitative data quantitative methods Questionnaires Readiness Researchers Respondents Role modelling Running Shame Shyness Social interactions Social norms Social support Statistical analysis Statistics Sustainability Weather Womens health
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Summary:	Issue addressed Physical inactivity is a key health risk among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) Australians. We examined perceptions of the Indigenous Marathon Program (IMP) in a remote Torres Strait island community. Methods Semi‐structured interviews with community and program stakeholders (n = 18; 14 Indigenous) examined barriers and enablers to running and the influence of the IMP on the community. A questionnaire asked 104 running event participants (n = 42 Indigenous) about their physical activity behaviours, running motivation and perceptions of program impact. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic content analysis, and quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results Interviews revealed six main themes: community readiness, changing social norms to adopt healthy lifestyles, importance of social support, program appeal to hard‐to‐reach population groups, program sustainability and initiation of broader healthy lifestyle ripple effects beyond running. Barriers to running in the community were personal (cultural attitudes; shyness) and environmental (infrastructure; weather; dogs). Enablers reflected potential strategies to overcome described barriers. Indigenous questionnaire respondents were more likely to report being inspired to run by IMP runners than non‐Indigenous respondents. Conclusions Positive “ripple” effects of the IMP on running and broader health were described to have occurred through local role modelling of healthy lifestyles by IMP runners that reduced levels of “shame” and embarrassment, a common barrier to physical activity among Indigenous Australians. A high initial level of community readiness for behaviour change was also reported. So what? Strategies to overcome this “shame” factor and community readiness measurement should be incorporated into the design of future Indigenous physical activity programs.
ISSN:	1036-1073 2201-1617