Applying exercise stage of change to a low-income underserved population.

OBJECTIVES: To validate the transtheoretical model for exercise behavior and the constructs of decisional balance and self-efficacy for exercise in a low-income, poorly educated primary care sample. METHODS: Patients attending public primary-care clinics from 4 separate sites in Louisiana were interviewed regarding their health behaviors. RESULTS: The data provide equivocal support for applying the transtheoretical model for exercise and integrating it with other models of behavior change within this population. CONCLUSIONS: Further studies modifying the decisional balance measures are necessary before definitive statements regarding the applicability of these models to exercise within this specialized population can be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]