Abby C King
Biographic Data
| ID | 78091 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Abby C King |
| GIVEN NAMES | Abby C |
| FAMILY NAME | King |
| SIGNATURE | KING A C |
| AFFILIATIONS | Stanford University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7949-8811 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 98 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 271 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 98 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1986 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Adolescent-led Our Voice method to promote healthy and active lifestyles and environments in South Africa
Adolescents’ immediate environments, including their homes, schools, and neighbourhoods, have a significant impact on their behaviour, health and development. Fostering adolescents’ agency and empowerment can drive environmental and behavioural changes that can lead to improved health outcomes and reduced disparities in current and future generations. The objective of the study was to pilot and evaluate the implementation of a “by the people” cit…
Assessing physical activity barriers and facilitators among Latinos/as
Though underutilized, urban parks are important locations for physical activity (PA), and improving them is a proven strategy to increase PA levels in surrounding communities. The proportion of the US Latino/a population meeting PA guidelines is low, but little attention has been paid to what physical environmental factors make it easier or more difficult for this population to engage in PA nor how acculturation may influence those perceptions. W…
Neighborhood context shapes physical activity intervention outcomes
Neighborhood conditions are key social determinants of health (SDOH) that play a critical role in healthy aging. Incorporating contextual measures into behavioral medicine interventions is essential for creating adaptable, equity-focused health solutions. Yet, few physical activity (PA) interventions explicitly evaluate how these factors influence effectiveness. We conducted a secondary analysis of the Computerized Physical Activity Support for S…
Food insecurity and cardiovascular disease risk factors among U.S. adults
Acculturation is associated with 12-month adherence to combined MVPA and sedentary behavior guidelines in a sample of midlife and older Latino/a adults
Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02111213 Registered April 2, 2014 https//clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02111213
Balancing the Self
Family caregivers play a vital role in supporting older adults, yet caregiving often brings persistent exposure to mortality, leading to heightened death anxiety and psychological distress. Applying terror management theory (TMT), this study explores how caregivers navigate death anxiety and maintain anxiety-buffering systems (cultural worldviews, self-esteem, and close relationships) while participating in a supportive intervention program. This…
A Granite Tool Producing Community on the Western Periphery of Pacbitun, Belize
Between 2012 and 2014, a crew from the Pacbitun Regional Archaeological Project (PRAP) excavated a small mound located on the western periphery of the Pacbitun site, a medium-sized ancient Maya center located in west-central Belize. That mound consisted of a thick deposit of granite sand and debitage, revealing a record of the production of several thousand granite tools dating to the Late Classic period. Since those excavations, a total of 22 si…
Yes I can! Exploring the impact of self-efficacy in a digital weight loss intervention
BACKGROUND: Self-efficacy is a modifiable intervention target in behavioral weight loss interventions. However, its role in the context of digital interventions is less clear. PURPOSE: To determine change in self-efficacy in a digital weight loss intervention, and whether self-efficacy is associated with engagement in self-monitoring diet or weight loss. METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of the GoalTracker study among 100 adults with overweig…
Re-thinking walkability
Fostering collective action for adolescent well-being
We present findings from the Our Voice in Barú project, examining adolescent engagement in citizen science to address environmental and social factors affecting well-being in a semi-rural Afro-descendant community in Latin America. The project aimed to identify barriers and enablers of well-being, informing adolescent-led actions for sustainable environmental changes relevant to adolescent health. Utilizing the Our Voice citizen science method, w…
Exploring the Relationship between Built Environment Attributes and Physical Activity in Lower-Income Aging Adults
The built environment has been linked to physical activity (PA) behaviors, yet there is limited knowledge of this association among lower-income midlife and older adults who are insufficiently active. The present cross-sectional study utilized baseline data collected between October 2017 and November 2019 from a clustered randomized controlled trial to determine how built environment attributes were associated with PA behaviors among midlife and …
Examining Relationships between Perceptions of Air Quality—Objectively Assessed Particulate Matter—And Health-Related Attributions among Midlife and Older Adults from the San Francisco Bay Area, Calif…
This investigation explored (1) correlations between midlife and older adults' air quality perceptions with objective particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5 ) and diesel PM, and (2) correlations between air quality perceptions with health-related attributions among a sample of midlife and older adults ( n = 66) living in or around senior affordable public housing sites in California's San Francisco Bay Area. The adapted air quality perception scale was u…
Partnering with Communities to Understand Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) Impacts on Access to Shared Micromobility
This study explored the facilitators and barriers of community bike share use in a mid-sized city with high incidence of poverty and racial diversity using a community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) photovoice framework with the Stanford Our Voice (OV) Discovery Tool digital application. Community members participated in one of three community citizen science walks with follow up focus groups facilitated by osteopathic medical studen…
(Dis)connected by design? Using participatory citizen science to uncover environmental determinants of social connectedness for youth in under-resourced neighbourhoods
Our findings extend evidence on key environmental determinants of social connectedness for youth, while highlighting the potential of community design to support multiple dimensions of healthy social development. Additionally, this work demonstrates the resilience and agency of youth in under-resourced settings, and underscores the importance of honouring assets, co-production, and intergenerational planning when working to advance healthy, conne…
Crime-related perceptions and walking for recreation inside and outside one's home neighborhood
Using citizen science to explore barriers and facilitators for healthy and sustainable lifestyles in office environments
The socio ecological model states that individual behaviors at work are shaped by the interactions between individual employees and their work environments. This study used citizen science to gain insights into which elements of the built, social, and organizational environment in an office and surrounding neighborhoods in two Swedish cities were perceived as barriers to or facilitators of healthy and sustainable behaviors at work. Participants i…
Urban Care for Unpaid Caregivers
The Care Block of Bogotá, Colombia, is an urban program that offers services for low-income unpaid caregivers. This study aimed to (i) characterize unpaid caregivers' subjective well-being, mental health symptoms, physical activity levels, and use of public spaces linked to the Care Block; (ii) identify caregivers' perceived built and social environment facilitators and barriers to accessing the Care Block facility; and (iii) document the communi…
Who Benefits? A Mixed Methods Study Assessing Community Use of a Major Metropolitan Park During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Bringing micro to the macro
Social and spatial contexts affect health, and understanding nuances of context is key to informing successful interventions for health equity. Layering mixed methods and mixed scale data sources to visualize patterns of health outcomes facilitates analysis of both broad trends and person-level experiences across time and space. We used micro-scale citizen scientist-collected data from four Bay Area communities along with aggregate epidemiologic …
Multi-country collaborative citizen science projects to co-design cardiovascular disease prevention strategies and advocacy
The collaborative engagement, participatory learning, and co-designing activities enhanced active engagement between citizen scientists, researchers, and stakeholders. This, in turn, provided context-specific insights on CVD prevention in the different SSA settings
Emergence of social support networks among breast cancer survivors through a community-based physical activity program in Colombia
Cross-sector co-creation of a community-based physical activity program for breast cancer survivors in Colombia
Benefits of physical activity (PA) in breast cancer survivors (BCS) are well established. However, programs to promote PA among BCS tailored to real-world contexts within low- to middle-income countries are limited. Cross-sector co-creation can be key to effective and scalable programs for BCS in these countries. This study aimed to evaluate the networking process to engage multisector stakeholders in the co-creation of a PA program for Colombian…
Implementing and Evaluating Community Health Worker-Led Cardiovascular Disease Risk Screening Intervention in Sub-Saharan Africa Communities
The increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) poses a considerable threat to public health. Community-driven CVD risk screening, referral and follow-up of those at high CVDs risk is essential to supporting early identification, treatment and secondary prevention of cardiovascular events such as stroke and myocardial infarction. This protocol descri…
The “Our Voice” Method
Citizen science research that more fully engages the community can systematically involve people from under-resourced groups to create practical health-enhancing improvements across physical, social and food environments. Exemplary health equity-focused outcomes include key health behaviors (e.g., healthy eating or physical activity) and community-level changes (e.g., public transit to food shops) that are central to health promotion while being …
Our Voice Nola
Findings demonstrate the ability of technology and citizen science to help better understand the complexities of New Orleans' past, present and distinct culture-and implications for food access and wellbeing in the context of trauma in an urban ecosystem
Aging in neighborhoods differing in walkability and income
Physical activity social support and middle- and older-aged minority women
Contribution of streetscape audits to explanation of physical activity in four age groups based on the Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes (Maps)
Determinants of leisure time physical activity in rural compared with urban older and ethnically diverse women in the United States
STUDY OBJECTIVE: Determinants of leisure time physical activity (LTPA) in rural middle aged and older women of diverse racial and ethnic groups are not well understood. This study examined: (1) urban-rural differences in LTPA by sociodemographic factors, (2) urban-rural differences in LTPA determinants, and (3) the pattern of relations between LTPA determinants and LTPA. DESIGN: A modified version of the sampling plan of the Behavioral Risk Facto…
Linking green space to neighborhood social capital in older adults
Individual, social and environmental correlates of physical activity among women living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods
Mediators of Increased Physical Activity and Change in Subjective Well-being
The purpose of this study was to examine whether change in satisfaction with physical function (SF), satisfaction with physical appearance (SA), and self-efficacy (SE) mediate the effects that increased physical activity has on change in subjective well-being (SWB). Participants in this investigation consisted of 854 men ( n = 471) and women ( n = 383) who took part in the Activity Counseling Trial (ACT). ACT was a 24-month multicenter, randomize…
Sleep Complaints in Older Women Who Are Family Caregivers
Providing care to a family member with dementia has significant psychological and physical consequences. Sleep quality is likely affected by caregiving, yet this domain has received surprisingly little empirical study. In this study, sleep complaints were examined in 90 older women who were family caregivers of adults with dementia. Caregivers reported more sleep complaints than similarly aged healthy adults on all seven components of the Pittsbu…
Employing citizen science to enhance active and healthy ageing in urban environments
Engaging older residents in problem definition and solution-building is key to the success of place-based initiatives endeavouring to increase the age-friendliness of urban environments. This study employed the Our Voice framework, engaging older adult citizen scientists (n = 14) and community stakeholders (n = 15) across the city of Birmingham, UK. With the aim of identifying urban features impacting age friendliness and co-producing recommendat…
Feast
Harnessing Technology and Citizen Science to Support Neighborhoods that Promote Active Living in Mexico
Fostering multiple healthy lifestyle behaviors for primary prevention of cancer
The odds of developing cancer are increased by specific lifestyle behaviors (tobacco use, excess energy and alcohol intakes, low fruit and vegetable intake, physical inactivity, risky sexual behaviors, and inadequate sun protection) that are established risk factors for developing cancer. These behaviors are largely absent in childhood, emerge and tend to cluster over the life span, and show an increased prevalence among those disadvantaged by lo…
The Mediating Effects of Situational Control on Social Support and Mood Following a Stressor
Results suggest that caregivers with greater perceived support were less emotionally reactive to stress occurring in their natural environments because of, in part, sustained or increased situational control
Using citizen science to understand the prerequisites for physical activity among adolescents in low socioeconomic status neighborhoods - The Nesla study
Feasibility and outcomes of a multilevel place-based walking intervention for seniors
The Role of Urban Environments in Promoting Active and Healthy Aging
Promoting active and healthy aging in urban spaces requires environments with diverse, age-friendly characteristics. This scoping review investigated the associations between urban characteristics and active and healthy aging as identified by citizen science (CS) and other participatory approaches. Using a systematic scoping review procedure, 23 articles employing a CS or participatory approach (participant age range: 54-98 years) were reviewed. …
Social cohesion emerging from a community-based physical activity program
Community-based physical activity programs, such as the Recreovía, are effective in promoting healthy behaviors in Latin America. To understand Recreovías’ challenges and scalability, we characterized its social network longitudinally while studying its participants’ social cohesion and interactions. First, we constructed the Main network of the program’s Facebook profile in 2013 to determine the main stakeholders and communities of participants.…
Rural Family Caregivers and Health Behaviors
This study examined health behaviors in a sample of rural family caregivers. In a community telephone survey of rural Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee, respondents were asked about their health, physical activity, nutrition, health providers, and family caregiving. Among 1,234 survey respondents, 12% self-identified as family caregivers. Caregivers reported lower fruit intake, more walking for exercise, and more provider advice about stress, fru…
Outcome Expectations and Physical Activity Participation in Two Samples of Older Women
Outcome expectations have received little study in physical activity (PA) research. This study examined whether initial outcome expectations and their achievement at 6 months (i.e. outcome realizations) predicted subsequent PA participation (7-12 months) in 118 older women. Initial outcome expectations were not associated with PA participation. Outcome realizations at 6 months, however, predicted subsequent PA participation ( p < .05). Women with…
Are women using postmenopausal estrogens? A community survey
Self-reported estrogen and progestin use in a California community was determined in 1986-87 from a telephone survey of postmenopausal women (n = 954) ages 50-65 years. Current use of hormones was reported by 32 percent; 26 percent took estrogens alone while 6 percent used estrogen + progestin. Comparisons pointed to significant social network and medical care utilization differences. Women who used estrogen therapy were younger, thinner, lived i…
Socioeconomic differences in the benefits of structured physical activity compared with health education on the prevention of major mobility disability in older adults
BACKGROUND: Evidence is lacking on whether health-benefiting community-based interventions differ in their effectiveness according to socioeconomic characteristics. We evaluated whether the benefit of a structured physical activity intervention on reducing mobility disability in older adults differs by education or income. METHODS: The Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders (LIFE) study was a multicentre, randomised trial that compar…
Physical Activity in Prefrail Older Adults
We examined the hypothesis that physical activity will have favorable effects on measures of self-efficacy for a 400-m walk and satisfaction with physical functioning in older adults 70+ years of age who have deficits in mobility. We randomized a total of 412 adults aged 70-89 years at elevated risk for mobility disability to either a physical activity or a successful aging educational control intervention for 12 months. Participants in the physi…
Results of the First Year of Active for Life
Objectives. Translating efficacious interventions into practice within community settings is a major public health challenge. We evaluated the effects of 2 evidence-based physical activity interventions on self-reported physical activity and related outcomes in midlife and older adults. Methods. Four community-based organizations implemented Active Choices, a 6-month, telephone-based program, and 5 implemented Active Living Every Day, a 20-week, …
A Modified Exercise-induced Feeling Inventory for Chronic Training and Baseline Profiles of Participants in the Activity Counseling Trial
An earlier study reported on the development of a scale to measure feeling states during acute bouts of exercise: the Exercise-induced Feeling Inventory (EFI-A). The present study reports on the psychometric properties of a revised scale to assess responses to habitual or chronic physical activity: the EFI-C. The EFI-C was administered during baseline testing to 830 sedentary men and women patients with a mean age of 51.5 years. Factor analytic p…
Factors Associated with Enrollment of Older Adults into a Physical Activity Promotion Program
This article investigates the extent to which a proactive two-phased recruitment approach resulted in recruitment of a representative sample of older adults from two lower income congregate housing facilities into a physical activity promotion program. Enrollees were similar to nonenrollees with respect to education, gender, marital status, race/ethnicity, self-rated health, physical functioning, psychological distress, exercise frequency, level …
Tailoring stress-reduction strategies to populations at risk
1Research Associate Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention Stanford University School of Medicine Stanford, California 2Professor of Psychology Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, Virginia
Smokers' challenge
The present study examined the effectiveness of a community-based smoking contest in helping 500 smokers maintain three months postcontest and one year postcontest abstinence. The majority were chronic smokers with a limited number of previous quit attempts. The three- and 12-month postcontest quit rates were 19 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively, rates exceeding naturally occurring community cessation rates. The contest was found to be more …
Are women using postmenopausal estrogens? A community survey
Self-reported estrogen and progestin use in a California community was determined in 1986-87 from a telephone survey of postmenopausal women (n = 954) ages 50-65 years. Current use of hormones was reported by 32 percent; 26 percent took estrogens alone while 6 percent used estrogen + progestin. Comparisons pointed to significant social network and medical care utilization differences. Women who used estrogen therapy were younger, thinner, lived i…
Prevalence of self-reported poor sleep in a healthy population aged 50-65
Enhancing the self-report of alcohol consumption in the community
Two questionnaire formats for assessing alcohol consumption in a community sample were compared. Subjects completed the Semi-Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire and a questionnaire specifically targeting alcohol use. Across all alcoholic beverages, subjects reported lower consumption on the alcohol questionnaire than on the food frequency questionnaire. The results suggest that food frequency questionnaires may provide a better means for en…
Factors Associated with Enrollment of Older Adults into a Physical Activity Promotion Program
This article investigates the extent to which a proactive two-phased recruitment approach resulted in recruitment of a representative sample of older adults from two lower income congregate housing facilities into a physical activity promotion program. Enrollees were similar to nonenrollees with respect to education, gender, marital status, race/ethnicity, self-rated health, physical functioning, psychological distress, exercise frequency, level …
Physical Activity and Minority Women
Few physical activity research studies have been conducted with minority women. The purpose of this study was to explore patterns of physical activity among minority women. Focus groups were conducted with volunteers older than age 40. Each group was led by a trained moderator familiar with the ethnic community targeted. The sessions were audiotaped and professionally transcribed. Constructs were researched and codes were developed. Data were ana…
Sleep Complaints in Older Women Who Are Family Caregivers
Providing care to a family member with dementia has significant psychological and physical consequences. Sleep quality is likely affected by caregiving, yet this domain has received surprisingly little empirical study. In this study, sleep complaints were examined in 90 older women who were family caregivers of adults with dementia. Caregivers reported more sleep complaints than similarly aged healthy adults on all seven components of the Pittsbu…
A Modified Exercise-induced Feeling Inventory for Chronic Training and Baseline Profiles of Participants in the Activity Counseling Trial
An earlier study reported on the development of a scale to measure feeling states during acute bouts of exercise: the Exercise-induced Feeling Inventory (EFI-A). The present study reports on the psychometric properties of a revised scale to assess responses to habitual or chronic physical activity: the EFI-C. The EFI-C was administered during baseline testing to 830 sedentary men and women patients with a mean age of 51.5 years. Factor analytic p…
Physical activity social support and middle- and older-aged minority women
Personal and environmental factors associated with physical inactivity among different racial–ethnic groups of U.S. middle-aged and older-aged women.
Determinants of leisure time physical activity in rural compared with urban older and ethnically diverse women in the United States
STUDY OBJECTIVE: Determinants of leisure time physical activity (LTPA) in rural middle aged and older women of diverse racial and ethnic groups are not well understood. This study examined: (1) urban-rural differences in LTPA by sociodemographic factors, (2) urban-rural differences in LTPA determinants, and (3) the pattern of relations between LTPA determinants and LTPA. DESIGN: A modified version of the sampling plan of the Behavioral Risk Facto…
Anger Expression and Natural Killer Cell Activity in Family Caregivers Participating in a Physical Activity Trial
Associations between psychological functioning and natural killer cell activity (NKA) were examined in 23 older (62.2 ± 7.5 years) family caregivers randomized to a moderate intensity four-month exercise program or to a wait-list control condition. At baseline, although NKA was related to anger-control ( r = -.42; trend p < .06) and anger-out ( r = .50; p < .03), it was not related to depression, anxiety, perceived stress, or caregiver burden. Af…
CHAMPS Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Adults
PURPOSE: To evaluate effectively interventions to increase physical activity among older persons, reliable and valid measures of physical activity are required that can also detect the expected types of physical activity changes in this population. This paper describes a self-report physical activity questionnaire for older men and women, developed to evaluate the outcomes of the Community Healthy Activities Model Program for Seniors (CHAMPS), an…
The Mediating Effects of Situational Control on Social Support and Mood Following a Stressor
Results suggest that caregivers with greater perceived support were less emotionally reactive to stress occurring in their natural environments because of, in part, sustained or increased situational control
Mediators of Increased Physical Activity and Change in Subjective Well-being
The purpose of this study was to examine whether change in satisfaction with physical function (SF), satisfaction with physical appearance (SA), and self-efficacy (SE) mediate the effects that increased physical activity has on change in subjective well-being (SWB). Participants in this investigation consisted of 854 men ( n = 471) and women ( n = 383) who took part in the Activity Counseling Trial (ACT). ACT was a 24-month multicenter, randomize…
Theoretical approaches to the promotion of physical activity
An Exercise Program for Women Who Are Caring for Relatives With Dementia
OBJECTIVE: This study describes factors related to retention and adherence to an exercise program for women caregivers. METHODS: One hundred sedentary women (average age = 62 years) caring for relatives with dementia were randomly assigned to an exercise program or an attention control (nutrition education) condition. Participants in the exercise condition received 12 months of home-based exercise counseling to achieve at least four exercise sess…
Stage of Motivational Readiness
Future work should determine in what contexts stage-targeted interventions are most successful for adoption and maintenance of physical activity
Depression and the Metabolic Syndrome in Young Adults
OBJECTIVE: Previous reports have suggested that depression may lead to the development of cardiovascular disease through its association with the metabolic syndrome; however, little is known about the relationship between depression and the metabolic syndrome. The aim of this study was to establish an association between depression and the metabolic syndrome in a nationally representative sample. METHODS: The Third National Health and Nutrition E…
Results of the First Year of Active for Life
Objectives. Translating efficacious interventions into practice within community settings is a major public health challenge. We evaluated the effects of 2 evidence-based physical activity interventions on self-reported physical activity and related outcomes in midlife and older adults. Methods. Four community-based organizations implemented Active Choices, a 6-month, telephone-based program, and 5 implemented Active Living Every Day, a 20-week, …
Outcome Expectations and Physical Activity Participation in Two Samples of Older Women
Outcome expectations have received little study in physical activity (PA) research. This study examined whether initial outcome expectations and their achievement at 6 months (i.e. outcome realizations) predicted subsequent PA participation (7-12 months) in 118 older women. Initial outcome expectations were not associated with PA participation. Outcome realizations at 6 months, however, predicted subsequent PA participation ( p < .05). Women with…
Physical Activity and Public Health in Older Adults
OBJECTIVE: To issue a recommendation on the types and amounts of physical activity needed to improve and maintain health in older adults. PARTICIPANTS: A panel of scientists with expertise in public health, behavioral science, epidemiology, exercise science, medicine, and gerontology. EVIDENCE: The expert panel reviewed existing consensus statements and relevant evidence from primary research articles and reviews of the literature. PROCESS: After…
Rural Family Caregivers and Health Behaviors
This study examined health behaviors in a sample of rural family caregivers. In a community telephone survey of rural Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee, respondents were asked about their health, physical activity, nutrition, health providers, and family caregiving. Among 1,234 survey respondents, 12% self-identified as family caregivers. Caregivers reported lower fruit intake, more walking for exercise, and more provider advice about stress, fru…
Feasibility and outcomes of a multilevel place-based walking intervention for seniors
Medicine (80 works) · Psychology (55 works) · Gerontology (44 works) · Environmental health (38 works) · Urban Transport and Accessibility (36 works) · Physical activity (33 works) · Physical Activity and Health (32 works) · Political science (29 works) · Sociology (29 works) · Physical therapy (26 works)