Social support strategies within in-person and online physical activity programs for adults: a rapid review

Abstract

Social support can enhance physical activity (PA) for adults by fostering initiation and maintenance of PA behaviour, reducing isolation, and promoting connections with others. Fitness professionals and PA participants can provide and facilitate support in group and one-on-one PA contexts; however, guidance on effective supportive strategies is limited. There is a need to identify and synthesize literature on practical strategies used to support adults in PA. Building upon an overview of reviews, which identified nine categories of supportive functions, this rapid review synthesized primary literature published in 2020 onward. This allowed for inclusion of recent articles reporting on PA in person and the novel emergence of online delivery. Data were extracted from 104 studies, and strategies were deductively coded utilizing the nine previously identified categories of supportive functions. While the nine functions remained the same, several new strategies were identified, particularly relating to tailoring to specific needs and being inclusive. Results spurred revisions to strategy naming within the original categories to ensure better integration of findings from online contexts. Findings consolidate supportive strategies across recent literature with results from PA delivery conducted in person and online, and demonstrate that many of the identified strategies are applicable across various PA contexts.