Nancy Salbach is helping older adults to walk more – one step at a time
A new study by Nancy Salbach and her colleagues has found that community-based outdoor walking groups can help older adults to develop the confidence and skills to walk more.
“As we age, we need to stay active to maintain mobility. Older adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic physical activity per week, and walking is a great way to achieve this,” says Salbach, principal investigator on the study and a Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy.
“We designed this outdoor walking group program to help older adults meet these guidelines in a way that would also help improve their mental health by walking in nature and socializing with others," Salbach says.
The GO-OUT study is one of the first to evaluate an outdoor walking group program supervised by a health professional in parks located in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal.
“It is not a typical walking group. It is a skill-building walking group to help seniors handle the physical and cognitive challenges of walking in the community. We all need to be active, and we need to challenge our bodies and muscles to do more, while making it an enjoyable experience,” says Salbach.
Participants in the GO-OUT study attended a workshop with activity stations designed to prepare them for walking outdoors. Stations involved activities like learning how to set goals, use a step counter, use Nordic walking poles and prevent falls.
Following the workshop, participants were randomly assigned to one of two 10-week programs — an outdoor walking group program in a park with adequate benches, washrooms and attractive features, or a weekly telephone call prompting participants to go for a walk on their own. In Toronto, the outdoor walking group was held at Edwards Gardens.
After warming up, participants in the outdoor walking group practiced a wide range of skills in the park, like walking a far distance, walking on different terrain, walking at different speeds, walking uphill and downhill, and walking into a crowd. Participants in the telephone reminder group received prompts to review information from the workshop, their outdoor walking goals, and strategies to prevent falls.
The researchers found there was no difference between the two groups regarding the number of minutes participants spent walking outside, but the study did find that people who participated in the outdoor walking group were more confident in their ability to walk outside. Salbach notes, “Improving seniors’ confidence in their ability to walk outside is important because it can increase their chances of continuing to walk outdoors after the program ends.”
The study also found that participants who attended a greater number of outdoor walking group sessions improved their walking speed and distance more than those with lower attendance.
Salbach hopes to see more outdoor walking group programs offered to seniors in the future.
“Municipalities and fitness providers need to recognize the unique needs of older adults with physical limitations due to stroke, arthritis, and other chronic health conditions. More than a yoga or aerobics class, they need programs that will help them maintain or improve their ability to perform functional everyday movements in the home and community so they can live independently. Building the infrastructure to help people age well will help people maintain their health and well-being.”
Salbach and GO-OUT co-principal investigator Ruth Barclay, a Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Manitoba and Riverview Health Centre Research Chair in Telerehabilitation, have received a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) grant to work with community organizations to identify organization needs, challenges, and strategies for offering the outdoor walking group program in their communities.
The GO-OUT project was supported by the CIHR and was completed during Salbach’s term as the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute Chair at the University of Toronto.