University of Louisville finds group walking programs help increase faculty and staff activity.
A self-insured institution, the University of Louisville implemented a faculty and staff wellness program in 2005 to help control the cost of health insurance to the university and to its employees by addressing the three primary lifestyle drivers of health care cost: stress, physical inactivity, and obesity. The program, Get Healthy Now, provides resources to help employees understand their health status and take corrective action where needed. One successful initiative within Get Healthy Now has been "Trek the Trail." Faculty and staff teams collectively walked the length of the Appalachian Trail over a 6-month period. After 19 weeks, and with 9 weeks to go, the 655 trek participants had walked more than 170,000 miles. Teams that had completed the trek continued to walk and to log their activity.
Benson
Patricia
P
College of Education and Human Development, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA. patricia.benson@louiville.edu
McKim
Paul
P
Ramsey
James R
JR
D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007629:Kentucky; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009786:Occupational Health Services; D016730:Program Development; D014495:Universities; D016138:Walking