My first steps would be to observe the socioeconomic status (SES) of the community in order to judge what is realistically possible. The observations would include the types of resources available, whether both men and women might join, the ethnicity of the neighbourhood and the culture (Barkway & Kenney 397). The second thing I could do is to be a role model so others could see that I am serious about my health. I could start jogging around the neighbourhood to see if there is any interest and to model healthy behaviour. Jogging is a type of exercise that requires no sports equipment which makes it attractive.
The Health Belief Model (HBM) is the model that interests me the most because a lot of people are suffering from obesity. The HBM takes into account three general elements in order to predict the “likelihood of (someone) engaging in health behaviour” that will be good for them. The three elements are (a) if they feel their health is a threat to their well being, (b) the SES and their self-awareness, and (c) a person believes that they can improve their health (“reduce threat”) by taking up exercise (Barkway & Kenney 389). Using the HBM model I think that acting as a positive role model would complement the other strategies I would need to use. Making people aware of the advantages of exercise and the dangers of obesity unfortunately, have not been found to motivate people to actively participate in an exercise program. ((Barkway & Kenney 390)
Adding the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) could help people move from simply having an intention to exercise to taking action. The TPB adds the elements of considering (a) attitudes and (b) subjective norms (if they have support from family and friends for example and if they feel motivated). The third element takes into account “perceived behavioural control,” these are “the internal and external factors” that may help motivate a person, or on the other hand act as obstacles for them to change their behaviour. One of the obstacles could be a lack of self-confidence that would make someone not want to be seen jogging in public. ((Barkway & Kenney 391).
