PSYCHOPHYSICAL HEALTH, RECREATIONAL PARTICIPATION AND PERCEIVED BARRIERS TO LEISURE-TIME PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG WIDOWS: EVIDENCE FROM THE CITY OF BAHAWALPUR, PAKISTAN

Participation in recreation and physical activity is crucially important for better health and quality of life. No study, as per our knowledge, has explored information on health status and recreational preference in widows in Pakistan yet. Identification of these facts may help health professionals and recreational planners to plan and execute adequate interventions that may modify recreational behaviors to foster effective participation in active recreation. This may further contribute to the better health and well-being of widows in Pakistan. One hundred and forty widows voluntarily participated that were recruited from 10 union councils of Bahawalpur City of Southern Punjab region, Pakistan. The participant completed a questionnaire during a face-to-face interview with investigators. The analysis yielded that the health status of widows in this region was worse to some extent. Diseases including depression, backache, headache, blood pressure, and pain in the legs were found among our sample, although at a moderate level. It was found that keep staying at home, followed by engagement in religious activities and sleeping were the most important preferential use of leisure time. Moreover, the expensiveness of facilities for physical activities followed by lack of physical activity places and lack of parks for women found to be the predominant barriers in participation in leisure-time physical activities. The study concluded that perceptions regarding barriers to leisure-time physical activity might contribute to inactive recreational preferences that further contributed to worse health outcomes in widows.