Virtual, bilingual English-Spanish community nutrition and exercise classes: Barriers and opportunities

Abstract

Objective: Regular exercise and healthy eating are important contributors to a person’s overall health and well-being. To enhance community health, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California medical students have been leading in-person nutrition, cooking and exercise classes for community members at the Los Angeles County Wellness Center. In September 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students pivoted to teaching through a virtual platform. In this study, we evaluated community participants’ experiences attending virtual, bilingual nutrition, cooking and exercise classes; the efficacy of virtual classes in providing education; participants’ preference for virtual versus in-person classes; and potential advantages and disadvantages of the virtual versus in-person formats. Design: Cross-sectional study design. Setting: Following 22 virtual classes between September 2020 and April 2021, participants completed an online Qualtrics survey. Methods: Quantitative data were descriptively analysed within Qualtrics using the Sign test. Qualitative free response data were analysed by coding responses for common themes using an inductive approach. Results: There were 326 responses from 130 unique participants. Satisfaction was high for nutrition and exercise classes (99%), and 98% of participants reported they would make healthy nutrition and exercise behaviour changes. Participants preferred online classes compared to in-person classes ( p = .0008). Barriers to attending in-person classes included lack of childcare, transport issues and COVID-19 risk. Conclusion: Virtual classes were well-received and effective. Virtual classes circumvented some of the barriers to in-person class attendance, and many participants preferred virtual classes to in-person classes.