Exploring the attitudes towards and experiences of geocaching amongst families in the community

There is a need for physical activity interventions to focus on autonomous forms of motivation to increase uptake and maintenance. Geocaching is a GPS-based treasure-hunt game with potential to increase levels of walking. The study aim was to explore the experiences of a geocaching intervention for...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental health research 2016-03, Vol.26 (2), p.187-197
Main Authors: Robinson, Shelagh, Hardcastle, Sarah J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Attitude surveys
Attitude to Health
Child
Child, Preschool
Community
England
Exercise
families
Families & family life
Female
green exercise
Humans
Infant
intervention
Male
Middle Aged
Motivation
Motor Activity
Rural Population
Walking
Young Adult
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Summary:There is a need for physical activity interventions to focus on autonomous forms of motivation to increase uptake and maintenance. Geocaching is a GPS-based treasure-hunt game with potential to increase levels of walking. The study aim was to explore the experiences of a geocaching intervention for people introduced to geocaching. A five-week geocaching intervention took place. Participants (n = 30) were recruited via school assemblies and village posters. Semi-structured telephone interviews (n = 21) were conducted post intervention to determine the participants' motives, barriers and experiences of geocaching. Geocaching motivators (social activity, challenge/discovery) and barriers (lack of time, problems with mobile technology and unsuccessful trips) were identified. Findings suggest that geocaching is a feasible activity to promote physical activity, particularly among families. Further robust and larger scale trials are required that target sedentary individuals, adopting strategies to reduce perceived barriers to geocaching.
ISSN:0960-3123
1369-1619
DOI:10.1080/09603123.2015.1061116