[Barriers to participation in public physical activity programs: comparison between Brazil and the Northeast region,...

The scope of this study is to estimate the prevalence of the main barriers to participation in public physical activity (PPA) programs, according to sociodemographic characteristics among residents of Brazil and of the Northeast region. The study used data from the 2019 National Health Survey, individuals aged 18 or older who reported being aware and not participating in PPA programs. The dependent variables were the main barriers to participation, analyzed according to sociodemographic variables and stratified by Brazil (BR) and the Northeast region (NE). The most frequent barriers were lack of interest (42.2% in BR and 45.1% in NE), opening hours (32.8% BR and 30.6% in NE), distance from home (11.2% BR and 11.8% in NE) and health problems (8.1% BR and 8.4% in NE). Sociodemographic characteristics such as sex, age, marital status, having paid employment, and family income showed statistically significant differences for one or more of the barriers analyzed. The conclusion drawn is that the prevalence of barriers to non-participation in PPA programs was high and varied according to sociodemographic characteristics. Strategies to address these barriers should be targeted at priority groups to ensure greater adherence to PPA programs.