Older Women’s Experiences of a Community-Led Walking Programme Using Activity Trackers

Promoting physical activity amongst older adults represents a major public health goal and community-led exercise programmes present benefits in promoting active lifestyles. Commercial activity trackers potentially encourage positive behaviour change with respect to physical exercise. This qualitative study investigated the experiences and attitudes of older adults following a 6-week community-led walking programme utilising activity trackers. Eleven community-dwelling older women aged 60+ completed individual phone interviews following their involvement in the programme. The programme, codesigned with a group of senior citizens, equipped participants with wrist-worn activity trackers and included biweekly check-in sessions with a researcher to monitor progress and support motivation. Interviews explored participants’ experiences of the programme and of using activity trackers for the purpose of becoming more active. A thematic analysis produced three main themes: ‘programme as a source of motivation’, ‘user experiences with the technology’ and ‘views on social dimension of the programme’. Overall, participants highlighted the self-monitoring function of activity trackers as most beneficial for their exercise levels. This study provides insights into the personal and social factors perceived by older adults in relation to being part of a community-led programme using activity trackers. It highlights the role of the programme and trackers in maintaining motivation to stay active.

23 The Implementation of a Hospital “Buddy Walking Programme” to Improve Access to Mobility for Acute Hospital in-Patients

Background An acute hospital admission often means that patient’s mobility can decline if not maintained and encouraged throughout their inpatient stay. The “Buddy Walking Programme” is a joint initiative between the physiotherapy department, nursing department and hospital volunteers. The aim of this research was to implement a hospital “Buddy Walking Programme” within a teaching hospital in Cork to allow the provision of accompanied walking sessions by members of the hospital’s volunteer team. Methods Ward based physiotherapy staff and nursing staff identify suitable patients and add their bed number and mobility status to a list each morning. Patients are identified who are independently mobile or can safely mobilise with the supervision of one person, with or without a mobility aid and who are cognitively capable of simple commands. Physiotherapists and nursing staff are made aware of the programme at induction. Volunteers partake in an educational session and manual handling training prior to offering supervised walking sessions. Results A standard operating procedure has been developed for the “Buddy Walking Programme”. Training has been rolled out hospital wide amongst nursing staff, physiotherapy staff and hospital volunteers. Conclusion This programme will help encourage a culture of physical activity within the hospital in-patient setting and improve mobility levels. Further research is warranted to explore the beliefs and perceptions of hospital staff and volunteers regarding the initiative and to examine barriers and facilitators to the programme.

A theory-based, task-oriented, outdoor walking programme for older adults with difficulty walking outdoors: protocol for the Getting Older Adults Outdoors (GO-OUT) randomised controlled trial

IntroductionA theory-based, task-oriented, community walking programme can increase outdoor walking activity among older adults to optimise functional independence, social participation and well-being. The study objective is to determine if there is a difference in the change in outdoor walking activity from baseline to 10 weeks, 5.5 months and 12 months after receiving a 1-day interactive workshop and outdoor walking programme (Getting Older Adults Outdoors (GO-OUT)) compared with the workshop and weekly reminders (WR) in older adults with difficulty walking outdoors.Methods and analysisA randomised controlled trial is being conducted in four urban Canadian communities. We will stratify 240 individuals by site and participant type (ie, individual vs spousal/friend pair) and randomise to either the GO-OUT or WR intervention. The GO-OUT intervention involves a 1-day workshop, where participants complete eight interactive stations to build knowledge and skills to walk outside, followed by a 10-week group outdoor walking programme (two 1-hour sessions/week) led by a physiotherapist or kinesiologist in parks. The WR intervention consists of the same workshop and 10 weekly telephone reminders to facilitate outdoor walking. The primary outcome measure is mean outdoor walking time in minutes/week derived from accelerometry and global positioning system data. GO-OUT is powered to detect an effect size of 0.4, given α=0.05, β=0.20, equal number of participants/group and a 20% attrition rate. Secondary outcomes include physical activity, lifespace mobility, participation, health-related quality of life, balance, leg strength, walking self-efficacy, walking speed, walking distance/endurance and mood.Ethics and disseminationGO-OUT has received ethics approval at all sites. A Data Safety Monitoring Board will monitor adverse events. We will disseminate findings through lay summaries, conference presentations and journal articles.Trial registration numberNCT03292510 (Pre-results).

Using the School Environment to Promote Walking amongst Adolescent Females: A Mixed-Method Study

Schools have the potential to promote physical activity (PA) in adolescents through physical education (PE) and extra-curricular PA. The aims of this study were to firstly understand the experiences of adolescent females who participated in a school-based walking programme (the Walking In ScHools (WISH) study) and secondly, to assess the potential for schools to further promote PA outside of structured PE. A sample of female participants (n = 45, mean age 13.1 years) who participated in the WISH study were randomly selected to participate in focus group discussions, to explore their experiences of the intervention. In addition, an online survey was distributed to all post-primary schools (n = 208) in Northern Ireland to assess the provision of extra-curricular PA and further evaluate the feasibility of the WISH study. In total, six focus groups were conducted. Walking during the school day was viewed as an acceptable form of PA by adolescent females, providing an opportunity to be active with friends, and helped participants overcome barriers previously associated with being active at school. Responding schools (n = 59) identified adolescent females and non-sporty pupils as sub-groups who would benefit most from participation in a school-based walking programme. This study has highlighted that the delivery of a walking programme within the school setting is acceptable, warranted and practically feasible from the point of view of adolescent females and key stakeholders within the school setting.