Characteristics of Canadian Adult Physical Activity Persona Profiles

To promote regular physical activity (PA), health promotion campaigns must be relevant to the intended audience based on the process of developing, enacting, or maintaining their PA intentions. Previous research has identified 4 major PA persona profiles of campaign audiences based on intention, behavior, habit, and identity: "nonintenders," "unsuccessful adopters," "successful adopters," and "successful maintainers." To maximize uptake, PA promotion campaigns must also be tailored to the sociodemographic characteristics of the intended audiences. The purpose of this study was to assess sociodemographic differences across these persona profiles.

Secondary cross-sectional analyses were conducted on a pooled sample of 3 survey data sets (ntotal = 8122): a national poll of the Canadian population and audience feedback from 2 Canada-wide PA promotion campaigns. Participants were classified into persona profiles using an existing classification. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses assessed whether persona profiles differed on sociodemographic variables: age category, gender, sexual orientation, duration lived in Canada, race, education, and income.

With univariate analyses, persona profiles could be characterized by age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, race, and income; odds ratios ranged from very small to small. With multivariate analysis, disability (odds ratio: 1.68-2.51) and sexual orientation (odds ratio: 1.90-2.14) were the most distinct of other persona profiles compared with "successful maintainers."

Participants with disability or who identified as 2SLGBTQIA+ (Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual) were the least likely to enact or maintain PA intentions. These audiences with lower societal privilege are most likely to need tailored PA promotion campaign content addressing unique barriers and facilitators to becoming "successful maintainers."