The Effectiveness of a Walking Booster Program for Seniors

Purpose: To determine the effectiveness of a 3-month home-based booster program for seniors to increase walking. Design: A longitudinal prospective study. Setting: Perth, Western Australia. Subjects: Of the 177 (of 260) program participants and 236 (of 313) controls who initially completed the neigh...

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Main Authors: Jancey, Jonine, Lee, Andy, Howat, Peter, Burke, Linda, Leong, C., Shilton, Trevor
Format: Journal Article
Published: American Journal of Health Promotion, Inc. 2011
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/3884
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author Jancey, Jonine
Lee, Andy
Howat, Peter
Burke, Linda
Leong, C.
Shilton, Trevor
author_facet Jancey, Jonine
Lee, Andy
Howat, Peter
Burke, Linda
Leong, C.
Shilton, Trevor
author_sort Jancey, Jonine
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Purpose: To determine the effectiveness of a 3-month home-based booster program for seniors to increase walking. Design: A longitudinal prospective study. Setting: Perth, Western Australia. Subjects: Of the 177 (of 260) program participants and 236 (of 313) controls who initially completed the neighborhood walking intervention, 114 (64%) and 134 (57%) were available for the booster, and 100 and 131 participants completed the entire program, respectively. Intervention: A 6-month neighborhood walking intervention was followed 12 months later by a 3-month home-based booster program comprised of print-based materials, a pedometer, and two motivational phone calls. Measures: A self-reported questionnaire was administered at four time points: original intervention, baseline (t1) and 6 months (t2); booster, 18 months (t3) and 21 months (t4). Physical activity levels were measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Personal and demographic information was collected.Analysis: Descriptive statistics and repeated-measures analysis of variance. Results: The intervention group's mean time spent walking for recreation and mean time spent walking for errands per week showed significant increases between t1 and t2, but the weekly mean time walking for recreation dropped by 52 minutes from t2 to t3. Significant increases were evident from t3 to t4 as a result of the booster. Walking levels for the control group remained stable over the study period. Conclusion: Physical activity levels of seniors revert once an intervention concludes. A home-based booster program can reactivate physical activity levels. Hence, program planners should include booster sessions for program sustainability.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-38842017-12-11T02:58:49Z The Effectiveness of a Walking Booster Program for Seniors Jancey, Jonine Lee, Andy Howat, Peter Burke, Linda Leong, C. Shilton, Trevor Physical Activity Local Community Prevention Research Walking Seniors Behavioral Purpose: To determine the effectiveness of a 3-month home-based booster program for seniors to increase walking. Design: A longitudinal prospective study. Setting: Perth, Western Australia. Subjects: Of the 177 (of 260) program participants and 236 (of 313) controls who initially completed the neighborhood walking intervention, 114 (64%) and 134 (57%) were available for the booster, and 100 and 131 participants completed the entire program, respectively. Intervention: A 6-month neighborhood walking intervention was followed 12 months later by a 3-month home-based booster program comprised of print-based materials, a pedometer, and two motivational phone calls. Measures: A self-reported questionnaire was administered at four time points: original intervention, baseline (t1) and 6 months (t2); booster, 18 months (t3) and 21 months (t4). Physical activity levels were measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Personal and demographic information was collected.Analysis: Descriptive statistics and repeated-measures analysis of variance. Results: The intervention group's mean time spent walking for recreation and mean time spent walking for errands per week showed significant increases between t1 and t2, but the weekly mean time walking for recreation dropped by 52 minutes from t2 to t3. Significant increases were evident from t3 to t4 as a result of the booster. Walking levels for the control group remained stable over the study period. Conclusion: Physical activity levels of seniors revert once an intervention concludes. A home-based booster program can reactivate physical activity levels. Hence, program planners should include booster sessions for program sustainability. 2011 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/3884 10.4278/ajhp.090512-ARB-164 American Journal of Health Promotion, Inc. fulltext
spellingShingle Physical Activity
Local Community
Prevention Research
Walking
Seniors
Behavioral
Jancey, Jonine
Lee, Andy
Howat, Peter
Burke, Linda
Leong, C.
Shilton, Trevor
The Effectiveness of a Walking Booster Program for Seniors
title The Effectiveness of a Walking Booster Program for Seniors
title_full The Effectiveness of a Walking Booster Program for Seniors
title_fullStr The Effectiveness of a Walking Booster Program for Seniors
title_full_unstemmed The Effectiveness of a Walking Booster Program for Seniors
title_short The Effectiveness of a Walking Booster Program for Seniors
title_sort effectiveness of a walking booster program for seniors
topic Physical Activity
Local Community
Prevention Research
Walking
Seniors
Behavioral
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/3884