Active for life: final results from the translation of two physical activity programs.
BACKGROUND
Most evidence-based programs are never translated into community settings and thus never make a public health impact.


METHODS
Active for Life (AFL) was a 4-year translational initiative using a pre-post, quasi-experimental design. Data were collected from 2003 to 2007. Analyses were conducted in 2005 and 2008.


METHODS
Nine lead organizations at 12 sites participated. Active Choices participants (n=2503) averaged 65.8 years (80% women, 41% non-Hispanic white). Active Living Every Day (ALED) participants (n=3388) averaged 70.6 years (83% women, 64% non-Hispanic white).


METHODS
In AFL, Active Choices was a 6-month telephone-based and ALED a 20-week group-based lifestyle behavior change program designed to increase physical activity, and both were grounded in social cognitive theory and the transtheoretical model. The interventions were evaluated in Years 1, 3, and 4. An adapted shortened ALED program was evaluated in Year 4.


METHODS
Moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity, assessed with the CHAMPS self-reported measure.


RESULTS
Posttest survey response rates were 61% for Active Choices and 70% for ALED. Significant increases in moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity, total physical activity, and satisfaction with body appearance and function, and decreases in BMI were seen for both programs. Depressive symptoms and perceived stress, both low at pretest, also decreased over time in ALED. Results were generally consistent across years and sites.


CONCLUSIONS
Active Choices and ALED were successfully translated across a range of real-world settings. Study samples were substantially larger, more ethnically and economically diverse, and more representative of older adult's health conditions than in efficacy studies, yet the magnitude of effect sizes were comparable.
Wilcox
Sara
S
University of South Carolina (USC), Department of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, USA. swilcox@sc.edu
Dowda
Marsha
M
Leviton
Laura C
LC
Bartlett-Prescott
Jenny
J
Bazzarre
Terry
T
Campbell-Voytal
Kimberly
K
Carpenter
Ruth Ann
RA
Castro
Cynthia M
CM
Dowdy
Diane
D
Dunn
Andrea L
AL
Griffin
Sarah F
SF
Guerra
Michele
M
King
Abby C
AC
Ory
Marcia G
MG
Rheaume
Carol
C
Tobnick
Jocelyn
J
Wegley
Stacy
S
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003376:Counseling; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D015397:Program Evaluation; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires