Grant: Project Grant

The ability to walk outdoors is key to participating in the community. Walking outside the home is a universally accessible form of physical activity with multiple health benefits. Walking can help reduce the risk of heart disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, osteoporosis, depression, and falls. Practice walking across roads, slopes and curbs, while talking, and dealing with crowds and traffic, is safe and feasible and can improve confidence and walking ability. Walking outdoors in nature appears to improve mental health more than walking indoors. Despite these health benefits, the majority of older Canadians infrequently walk outside. Barriers include fear, physical disability, inappropriate footwear and walking aids, challenging physical environments, such as uneven pavement, and poor weather. The best strategy for getting people to walk outdoors regularly is unknown. In this study, older adults who have difficulty walking outdoors will participate in either a 1-day workshop and 3-month outdoor walking program or the workshop and receive weekly reminders for 3 months. At the workshop, participants will learn about appropriate footwear, walking aids, equipment, and goal setting, and practice skills to increase outdoor walking. In the outdoor walking program, groups of 9 participants will meet for one hour, twice a week, to practice increasingly challenging activities in parks and built environments. The effect of the workshop and outdoor walking program compared to the workshop plus reminders on improving outdoor walking activity, physical activity, participation, and health-related quality of life, will be evaluated. Each participant will complete four evaluations: before the intervention and 3, 5, and 12 months later. We will interview select people at 6 and 12 months to ask 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.