title: Walking to meet health guidelines: the effect of prompting frequency and prompt structure.
abstract: This study assessed the effects of frequency of prompting (phone calls once a week versus once every 3 weeks) and structure of prompting (high versus low structure) in 135 participants (132 women and 3 men) in a walking program designed to meet the American College of Sports Medicine's cardiovascular exercise goals. Survival analysis using 6 months of data points and using the criteria of walking at least 20 min a day for at least 3 times per week indicated an effect for more frequent versus less frequent prompting (46% and 13%) but not for high- versus low-structure prompting (30% and 31%). The results suggested the efficacy of frequent prompting delivered in inexpensive ways as a means to increase exercise adherence and the further parametric study of other basic behavior change strategies.
authors.affiliation: Center for Research in Health Behavior, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA.
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Lombard
authors.forename: T N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Lombard
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Winett
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005246:Feedback; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D010809:Physical Fitness; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D016138:Walking / Q000523:psychology*