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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Main Authors: Robinson, S., Hardcastle, Sarah
Format: Journal Article
Published: Taylor & Francis 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/32903
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author Robinson, S.
Hardcastle, Sarah
author_facet Robinson, S.
Hardcastle, Sarah
author_sort Robinson, S.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description 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.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-329032017-09-13T15:27:12Z Exploring the attitudes towards and experiences of geocaching amongst families in the community Robinson, S. Hardcastle, Sarah 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. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/32903 10.1080/09603123.2015.1061116 Taylor & Francis restricted
spellingShingle Robinson, S.
Hardcastle, Sarah
Exploring the attitudes towards and experiences of geocaching amongst families in the community
title Exploring the attitudes towards and experiences of geocaching amongst families in the community
title_full Exploring the attitudes towards and experiences of geocaching amongst families in the community
title_fullStr Exploring the attitudes towards and experiences of geocaching amongst families in the community
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the attitudes towards and experiences of geocaching amongst families in the community
title_short Exploring the attitudes towards and experiences of geocaching amongst families in the community
title_sort exploring the attitudes towards and experiences of geocaching amongst families in the community
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/32903