Systematic Review of Physical Activity Outcomes of Rural Lifestyle Interventions

The purpose of this systematic review is to analyze current lifestyle intervention literature conducted in U.S. rural areas to identify the most effective and impactful interventions on physical activity outcomes. Quality of studies was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's risk of bias tool. Exploratory calculations of effect size and 95% confidence intervals were performed to demonstrate trends in clinical importance. Eight trials which included 1,399 adult participants met the inclusion criteria for review. Two trials reported a significant difference in the increase of physical activity between groups with medium to large effect sizes. Interventions which are very personalized or tailored and/or include many intervention contacts appear to be most effective. However, the small number of studies, mixed findings, and the risk of bias limit our ability to draw conclusion.