Abstract
Physical activity (PA) and wellbeing are closely connected. Globally, physical inactivity has been identified as the fourth risk factor for mortality rate. The benefits of PA are well known in improving quality of life, but studies show that several adults do not meet the minimum requirements for fruitful PA. This quantitative and cross-sectional analytic design has the overall objective to assess the relationship between PA and wellbeing of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) personnel based in Niamey. The specific objectives of this study are to measure the frequency and duration of different PA to determine the physical activity level (PAL), to determine how wellbeing is associated with the PA and to assess the knowledge on benefits of PA and the barriers that prevent staff members from engaging in regular PA. Using EpiInfo version 7.2, a sample of 100 respondents was selected from a population of 136 UNHCR staff who had been at their duty station for at least six months and aged between 20 and 59 years. Data was analysed using descriptive statistical methods. The mean age of 42.5 (± 9.54 SD) years was calculated. Data were exported to STATA (2018) for further analyses. Univariate and logistic regression analysis was done to assess any association between independent variables and PA.
Results indicate that 66% of participants were physically active and 63% sat between four and eight hours per day. Of the participants, 62% practised PA to manage health conditions. They were also motivated by doctor’s recommendation to practise PA (44%). A few of them (12%) were asked by peers and less than half (43%) felt guilty if not regularly active while 41% wanted to lose weight and 75% wanted to vent after work. Most participants (91%) recognised that PA was “good” for health such reducing NCDs (91%), strengthening muscles and bones (93%), improving ability in everyday activities (88%) and the majority of them (91%) agreed that PA improves sleep quality. However, reasons given as barriers to practising PA included having no time (63%), no proper facilities (33%) and medical reasons (3%), while 36% reported being not motivated. Overall, the findings indicate that engaging in physical activity contributes positively to the wellbeing of UNHCR personnel in Niamey, particularly in areas such as sleep quality and stress reduction. The results of the study will be available on the bookshelf at UNHCR Office in Niamey, and they will assist stakeholders to understand the importance of PA for their wellbeing and will reduce the organisation healthcare costs by preventing or reducing diseases associated with insufficient PAL among staff.