Building Community: Stakeholder Perspectives on Established Walking Programs in Community Venues

Background and Purpose: Mid-life and older adults are the fastest growing but most physically inactive age groups of our nation’s population.  Previous research has documented  the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle.  Evidence shows that 150 minutes of weekly moderate-intensity physical activity, such as walking, can increase well-being and  quality of life.  Mall walking has been a popular physical activity among mid-life and older adults for over three decades.  However, little is known about why older adults choose to walk in these community venues (e.g., malls, zoo, and garden) and why walking program providers support these programs.  The purpose of this study was to describe established walking programs from the perspective of walkers and walking program providers, specifically examining environment and program features.

Methods: Fifty (N=50) semi-structured in-person or telephone interviews (28 walkers and 22 walking program providers) were conducted in five states.  The majority of walkers were college-educated (>63%) and females (57%).  On average, participants were 73 years old (age range 44-91) and in walking programs for 8.6 years, and walk 3.9 days/week for one-hour/day.  We recruited participants from 10 malls and 6 other public venues.  The social-ecological model was used to develop interview questions about the reasons for walking and their environmental and program perspectives.  Interviews were digitally recorded, professionally transcribed verbatim, and coded using Microsoft Excel 2010.  Thematic analysis using a deductive approach followed initial coding, to further itemize benefits, challenges, and site/program features.

Results: Regardless of site, walkers reported that participating in walking programs improved their agility, energy, cardiovascular condition, balance and blood pressure.  Social benefits included making new friends and belonging to a community of walkers.  Walking program providers reported walkers brought sales to their venues, provided “extra eyes” on the property as security measures, and strengthened the site’s relationship with the surrounding community.  Mall walkers and mall walking program providers liked malls’ climate-controlled, safe, peaceful, and clean environments with spacious, flat walking surfaces, and accessible features.  Walkers indicated they enjoyed having control over the frequency, amount of time, distance and pace that they walked.  Some walking program providers discussed including additional benefits to walkers such as offering blood pressure screening, breakfast meetings on health related topics, and give-away incentives.  Walkers’ occasional health conditions and walking program funding, although at minimal cost, were the only reported challenges.

Conclusion and Implications: Numerous national efforts including the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans have been made to encourage increased walking to improve health.  Understanding how community spaces are being used for walking can support these strategies and help inform builders in walking program development and dissemination.  Mall walking programs have great potential to provide a wide range of health, social and safety benefits to mid-life and older adults.  We recommend that these programs are more widely promoted through social media, community groups and referrals from senior social service agencies and healthcare providers.  Increasing the use of malls as places to walk for exercise may also benefit venues by establishing them as community spaces for healthy, social activities.