“Walk Your Heart to Health”: Results From a Participatory Community Assessment, Planning and Pilot Project to Address Health Disparities

Addressing racial and ethnic health disparities requires practicing public health without borders between urban community residents and public health professionals, and between racial and ethnic groups. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) offers one mechanism for eroding borders, through collaborative engagement of community residents, public health professionals and academic researchers to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions to promote health.

We will describe findings from the “Walk Your Heart to Health” (WYHH) project, one component of a multilevel (i.e., individual, community, policy) intervention to promote cardiovascular health in a diverse population. Following a brief description of the CBPR assessment and planning process used to develop this program, and the multilevel intervention design that emerged, we will describe the implementation and evaluation of WYHH pilot walking groups in three predominantly African American and Latino communities. Program components included the use of pedometers and techniques to build social support among diverse group members, building on the evidence base of successful behavioral change and priorities identified in the community planning process (e.g., recognizing and enhancing existing community resources to promote health). Findings from the process and outcome evaluation of the WYHH pilot include: high levels of participation, satisfaction, and social support among participants; increases in the number of steps walked; positive response to pedometers as motivational and evaluative tools; and significant declines in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. We will discuss lessons learned, and implications for participatory community planning, pilot intervention processes and policy to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities.