ArticleThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2017
How to get a nation walking: reach, retention, participant characteristics and program implications of Heart Foundation Walking, a nationwide Australian community-based walking program.
Article in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- How to Best Develop and Deliver Generic Long-Term Condition Rehabilitation Programmes in Rural Settings: An Integrative Review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2022Pooled it
- Exergame Intervention for Habit Formation, Lifestyle Adjustment, and Health Ownership Enhancement Among Hong Kong's Older Adults: Multisession, Single-Group, Pre-Post Pilot Study.JMIR serious games · 2026Article
- 'Walking is the means to bring you together': understanding men's participation and non-participation in a group walking programme in Australia.Health promotion international · 2026Article
- Gender gap in physical activity and sport participation across the lifespan in Australia between 2016 and 2023.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Trends and projections of the global burden of T2DM-associated CKD related to high BMI: A global burden of disease study 2021.PloS one · 2025Article
- The Use of Social Marketing in Community-Wide Physical Activity Programs: A Scoping Review.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2024Article
- A natural experiment to determine if FitEx works: Impact of a statewide walking program.Translational behavioral medicine · 2024Article
- Frequency of Physical Activity Done with a Companion: Changes Over Seven Years in Adults Aged 60+ Living in an Australian Capital City.Journal of aging and health · 2023Article
- The Relationship between Social Support for Physical Activity and Physical Activity across Nine Years in Adults Aged 60-65 Years at Baseline.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Mixed-methods evaluation of Daily Moves, a community-based physical activity program for older adults.BMC geriatrics · 2022Article
- Two of a Kind? Similarities and Differences between Runners and Walkers in Sociodemographic Characteristics, Sports Related Characteristics and Wearable Usage.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Team members influence retention in a First Peoples' community-based weight-loss program.Preventive medicine reports · 2022Article
- Rural SNAP Participants and Food Insecurity: How Can Communities Leverage Resources to Meet the Growing Food Insecurity Status of Rural and Low-Income Residents?International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Doing more with movement: constituting healthy publics in movement volunteering programmes.Palgrave communications · 2020Article
- Inequities and inequalities in outdoor walking groups: a scoping review.Public health reviews · 2020Article
- Trial feasibility and process evaluation of a motivationally-embellished group peer led walking intervention in retirement villages using the RE-AIM framework: the residents in action trial (RiAT).Health psychology and behavioral medicine · 2019Article
- Walking and resting blood pressure: An inter-individual response difference meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Science progressArticle
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCommunity-based walking programs represent a low-cost, accessible approach to increasing physical activity among inactive adults. However, recruiting participants from vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups remains a challenge. This study examined the reach, retention, sociodemographic and health characteristics, physical activity levels and motivators of participants in Heart Foundation Walking, a nationwide Australian community-based walking program.
methodsDescriptive cross-sectional analyses were undertaken with data from 22,416 participants aged 15+ years in the Heart Foundation Walking registration database in December 2015, and from four surveys of participants in 2010 (n = 2400), 2011 (n = 3274), 2012 (n = 4158) and 2015 (n = 1890).
resultsHeart Foundation Walking reached participants in every geographic region of Australia, including remote and sparsely populated regions, and engaged sizeable proportions of the following at-risk participants: older than 60 years (>70%); with very low incomes (17-25%); who were overweight or obese (around 60%); and with one or more chronic disease or disease risk factors (57-81%). For all demographic groups, one-year retention rates were at least 75%. Seventy percent of participants met physical activity recommendations. Over 75% reported joining the program for health and fitness reasons while the most cited motivator for continuing was the social aspect (57-73%).
conclusionsVolunteer-run, group-based walking programs can have substantial reach and retention, in particular among those at risk for physical inactivity. The provision of opportunities for social interaction appears to be a key program element in promoting long-term participation, including among high-risk groups.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.