Getting Older Adults OUT-of -Doors

Summary

Community walking is an issue that older adults with chronic conditions have described as important to participation in the community. Walking outside the home is a universally accessible form of physical activity that has multiple health benefits. Walking for 150 minutes per week can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, osteoporosis, and depression, as well as falls. Practice walking across roads, slopes and curbs, while talking, and dealing with crowds and traffic, is safe and feasible and can improve confidence, balance and walking ability. Being physically active outdoors in nature appears to improve mental health more than being active indoors. Despite these health benefits, the majority of older Canadians do not walk outside on a regular basis. Barriers to walking outside include fear, physical disability due to chronic disease, the appropriateness of footwear and walking aids, and the physical environment, such as uneven pavement, weather and temperature. To date, the best strategy for getting people to walk outdoors regularly is unknown. The investigators propose to evaluate the effectiveness of a dynamic 1-day workshop, at which older adults who infrequently walk outdoors learn strategies to facilitate outdoor walking, such as appropriate use of footwear, ambulatory aids and equipment, goal setting, and practice skills related to increasing outdoor walking. The workshop will be compared to the workshop plus involvement in a walking group for 3 months. Outcomes include outdoor walking activity, total physical activity, walking ability, participation, and health-related quality of life. Each participant will have three evaluations: before the intervention and 3 and 6 months later. The investigators will interview select participants at 6 months to ask them about their opinions of what worked and didn't work. Increasing outdoor walking is expected to improve health and well-being, and help people live independently in the community for longer.

Conditions

• Older Adults With Decreased Outdoor Walking Ability

Interventions

OTHER

GO-OUT program

Participants attend the walking workshop followed by a 3-month outdoor walking group intervention, twice weekly for 60-minutes. Each session includes a 10-minute warm-up and cool down, and a planned walk in an outdoor community environment. Continuous walking exercise will gradually increase from 10 to 60 minutes, as well increase difficulty. Balance exercises will be included in the warmup and walk. There will be a variety of surfaces and environmental factors to challenge the participants, e.g., carrying objects, diverting the walker's attention, crossing at a light, walking up and down curbs, slopes, and level or uneven surfaces. Supervision will be on a 1:3 facilitator-to-participant ratio to allow for assistance and individualization of the intervention where necessary.

OTHER

Task-oriented outdoor walking workshop

The 1-day workshop will be 5 hours with breaks. Participants will complete a series of stations learning information, strategies and skills related to safely walking outdoors. Stations include: pedometer use; walking pole use; footwear; footcare; fall prevention; balance exercises; proper use of walking aids; correct posture; self-management of exercise intensity; goal setting; and walking safely outdoors. Participants will receive a workbook with Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines, benefits of outdoor walking, information for each workshop station and a pedometer. Participants will use the workbook as an information resource and to record their community ambulation goals, planning routes, and walking time. All participants will be encouraged to walk outside with a partner, for safety.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Toronto

  collaborator OTHER

• McGill University

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Alberta

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Manitoba

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Ruth Barclay, PhD · University of Manitoba

• Nancy Salbach, PhD · University of Toronto

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

65 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2015-02-28

Primary Completion

2015-11-30

Completion

2015-11-30

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations