Healthy and Active Communities for Older Adults

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Healthy and Active Communities for Older Adults

• Three Successful Community Initiatives

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Overview

• Ruth Egger, University of Washington
• Southeast Senior Physical Activity Network
• Marigrace Becker, Seattle Parks and Recreation
• Sound Steps Walking Program
• Seth Schromen-Wawrin, Feet First
• Go Cart for Groceries

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SE-SPAN Southeast Senior Physical Activity
Network
Ruth Egger University of Washington
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SE-SPAN Goals

• Promote physical activity (PA) among older adults
  in Southeast Seattle
• Test a community organizing model of creating
  senior exercise programs and promoting
  environmental and policy change
• Find ways of sustaining both individual programs
  and the overall organizing model

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Community Organizing Approach

• Create new senior physical activity programs by
  bringing together providers and populations
• Work toward long-term policy/environmental change
  and sustainability by building a broader
  community coalition

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Organizing Approach 1 - Programs

• Populations and providers
• Program examples Walking groups, Enhance Fitness
  classes, Matter of Balance, Tai Chi
• Accomplishments
• Challenges and lessons learned

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Populations

• Five senior housing buildings
• SHA Housing
• Meal sites-Filipino, Laotian, Vietnamese
• Religious organizations and churches
• Senior Center
• Neighborhood House
• Jefferson, Rainier and Rainier Beach CCs
• Rainier Park, Rainier Beach Health Clinics and
  International Community Health Clinic

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Providers

• Seattle Parks and Recreation-Sound Steps and
  Senior Adult Programs
• Senior Center-Enhance Fitness, both active and
  chair based Senior Hikes
• Ethnic Meal Sites and Refugee Groups
• Senior Housing
• Churches and religious organizations
• Health Clinics
• Rainier Health and Fitness-Enhance Fitness

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Peter Claver Enhance Fitness
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Program Accomplishments

• 10 walking groups, 10 Enhance fitness classes
  (200 total participants)
• Health benefits cited by participants
• Productive collaboration with Parks and
  Recreation, Group Health Cooperative, Senior
  Services

• Grant to pay walk leaders
• Former PALS participant is now a walk leader
• Walk leaders are taking leadership roles in
  other programs
• Informal community of walkers and Enhance
  Fitness participants forming

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Organizing Approach 2 - Coalition

• Coalition-building approaches
• Coalition example Healthy and Active Rainier
  Valley Coalition- HARV-C
• Accomplishments
• Challenges and lessons learned

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Coalition Example Healthy and Active Rainier
Valley Coalition

• Started with Columbia City Walks health fair
• Organizations involved in event wanted to
  continue their relationships
• Worked with local Steps to a Healthier US project
  to provide support for the group
• Identified specific goals and activities
  Shop-arounds, Healthy Restaurant Initiative, In
  Motion, physical activity survey

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Coalition Accomplishments

• Network of organizations with relationships with
  SESPAN
• Small group of committed partners to help support
  the effort
• Healthy and Active Rainier Valley Coalition
  holding regular meetings, working on projects
• 30,000 available from STEPS for small grant
  projects
• Student interns developed logo and PR materials

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Summary

• Early SESPAN results promising
• Organizing approach has led to new senior
  exercise programs and a local health coalition
• Outreach to informal settings for fitness
  programs.

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Sound Steps
Marigrace Becker Seattle Parks and Recreation
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Purpose

• To improve the health and wellness of Seattle
  adults age 50 by implementing a community-based
  walking program designed to encourage physical
  activity and social interaction.

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Step 1 Identify

• Target a group of people based on locale,
  demographics, ability, common interests, desired
  health outcomes
• Find a program champion to be team captain

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Step 2 Organize

• Ask program champion to publicize meeting
• Describe health benefits of walking
• As a group, decide
• Walk days/times Start date
• Walk route
• Incentives
• Further outreach methods

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Step 3 Mobilize

• Spread the word
• Keep it flexible
• Speed, distance, route
• Keep it fun
• Special Events
• Walker Discounts
• Goals/Competitions

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Step 4 Sustain

• Partner with housing, health and senior related
  organizations.
• Recognize and empower volunteers

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SE-SPAN Sound Steps
Partnering for maximum success
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Walk Around the World
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Walk and Roll
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Walk with the Mariners
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Senior Half Marathon Walk
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Go Cart For Groceries

• Seth Schromen-Wawrin
• Feet First

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Goals

• Increase number of walking trips
• Make it easier for people to walk to the grocery
  store
• Reduce the amount of driving for short distance
  errands
• Funded through Active Living by Design

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Social Marketing Plan

• Behavior Change
• Increase physical activity
• Overcoming stereotypes increase amount of carts
• Assessment of stakeholders
• Phone survey
• Focus groups
• Product
• Price
• Place
• Promotion

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Pilot Program

• 3 target populations
• Westwood Heights Elderly, low-income, Seattle
  Housing Authority
• Westwood Heights East family, low-income,
  Seattle Housing Authority
• Westwood Neighborhood single family residences,
  diverse income, live within ½ mile of a target
  shopping area
• 2 types of carts
• VersaCart (SHA)
• Perigot (single family)

½ mile
Safeway
Westwood Heights
Westwood Heights East
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The Carts

• Fancy cart (Perigot)

• Functional cart (VersaCart)

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Distribution

• WWH
• Resident Council
• WWHE
• Door hanger
• Door to door
• Single Family
• QFC
• Door hanger
• Door to door
• Media

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Whos taking part?

• Median age 55-64
• Physical activity level
• 30 minutes a day
• WWH higher WHE lower

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Lessons

• Easy buy-in
• Self-selection?
• Difficulties in distribution
• Many people interested, but not at the same
  destination
• Avoid a salesman stigma
• Shared vs individual

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Stories

• Who would not want a cart with the price of gas
  this high!?
• I can only stand up for less than an hour, so
  this will make my life much easier and more
  comfortable
• Oh, I can take this on the bus and go up to the
  Farmers Market. And put my laundry in it. It
  will be great for many things!
• We always try to walk to the store and take
  those canvas bags, but sometimes they just get to
  heavy and we cant carry it all.
• Many different reasons that people chose to take
  part

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Questions?