Achievement of Exercise Objectives and Satisfaction with the Walk with Ease Program—Group and Self-Directed Participants. Issue 4 (March 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Nyrop, Kirsten A.; Cleveland, Rebecca; Callahan, Leigh F.
• Is Part Of: American journal of health promotion. Volume 28:Issue 4(2014)
• Page Start: 228
• Page End: 230
• Publication Date: 2014-03
• Subjects: Evidence-Based -- Group -- Self-Directed -- Exercise -- Joint Pain -- Prevention Research -- Manuscript format: research -- Research purpose: program evaluation -- Study design: quasi-experimental -- Outcome measure: behavioral -- Setting: local community -- Health focus: physical activity -- Strategy: behavior change -- Target population age: adults and seniors -- Target population circumstances: self-reported arthritis or joint pain; Health promotion -- Periodicals; Health Promotion; Health promotion; Periodicals; Periodicals; 613.05
• DOI: 10.4278/ajhp.120920-ARB-453
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0890-1171

Abstract

Purpose: This study presents group (instructor-led) and self-directed (nongroup) participant achievement of exercise objectives and satisfaction with the Arthritis Foundation's Walk With Ease (WWE) program at 6 weeks postintervention and 1-year follow-up. Design: Secondary data analysis. Setting: Rural and urban counties in North Carolina. Subjects: Four hundred sixty-two adults with self-reported joint pain/stiffness or physician-diagnosed arthritis, age ≥ 18 years, no serious medical condition, no cognitive impairments, English speaking. Intervention: WWE is a 6-week community-based walking program offered in two formats—group and self-directed. Measures: Self-report measures collected at baseline, 6 weeks, and 1 year. Analysis: Descriptive statistics, χ 2 and t-tests. Results: Individuals self-selected either group (n = 192) or self-directed (n = 270) format. On average, participants were age 67, Caucasian (70%), and female (88%). Mean minutes per walk increased from 16.7 at baseline to 34.2 minutes at 1 year among group participants, and from 16.5 to 33.7 minutes among self-directed. At 1 year, 59.6% of group and 69.3% of self-directed participants reported continued walking (p = .06). Group participants were more likely than self-directed to do recommended stretching (p < .02) and warm-up/cool-down exercises (p < .01). Conclusion: Group and self-directed participants have similar self-reported walking outcomes but have some differences in their utilization of WWE recommendations.