Being physically active is important for everyone’s health, but it is often challenging for people to start and keep an activity routine.
To support a healthy lifestyle, Kwakiutl District Health Centres (KDC Health) offers a variety of programs and services to the community members in North Vancouver Island. KDC Health has expressed a strong interest in developing a physical activity mentoring program, in partnership with Arthritis Research Canada, to improve health and wellness in the communities.
In this project, we will test a new program called PATH to improve physical activity participation in the communities served by KDC Health. This program involves:
- A group education session on how to be active
- The use of Fitbit Flex (wireless physical activity tracker)
- Activity mentoring by a KDC Health staff (known as Activity Mentors)
We will recruit 60 community members to test the PATH program. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to either start the program now (the Now Group) or start the program 2 months later (the Later Group).
Participants will be asked to complete online questionnaires, and wear an armband accelerometer for 7 days to assess their activity levels at the beginning, at 2 months, and at 4 months of the study. To gain an in-depth understanding participants’ experiences in the study, we will invite them to take part in an interview.
At the end of the project, all participants will receive a comprehensive report of their activity assessment.
Principal Investigator:
Dr. Linda Li
Co-investigators:
Charles Goldsmith, Simon Fraser University
Lynne Feehan, University of British Columbia
Collaborator:
Kim Roberts, Kwakiutl District Council