Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #103899

Marcia G. Ory, PhD, MPH¹, Sara Wilcox, PhD², Diane Dowdy, PhD, CHES³, Sarah F. Griffin, PhD⁴, Brigid Sanner⁵, David A. Dzewaltowski, PhD⁶, Paul Estabrooks, PhD⁷, Terry Bazzarre, PhD⁸, Robin Mockenhaupt, PhD⁸, and Laura C. Leviton, PhD⁸. (1) School of Rural Public Health - Department of Social and Behavioral Health, Texas A & M University System Health Science Center, 3000 Briarcrest Drive, Suite 310, Bryan, TX 77802, (979) 845-2387, mory@srph.tamshsc.edu, (2) Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Department of Exercise Science, 1300 Wheat Street, Columbia, SC 29208, (3) Active for Life, Texas A&M University System School of Rural Public Health, 1103 University Drive East, College Station, TX 77840, (4) Prevention Research Center, University of South Carolina, 730 Devine Street, Columbia, SC 29208, (5) AFL National Program Office, RWJF Communication, 7930 Fair Oaks Ave., Dallas, TX 75231, (6) Community Health Institute, Kansas State University, Natatorium 8, Manhattan, KS 66506, (7) Clinical Research Unit, Kaiser Permanente, PO Box 378066, Denver, CO 80237-8066, (8) Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Rt. 1 and College Rd. East, Princeton, NJ 08543-2316

Background: There is often a research to practice gap, with researchers developing interventions that may not be easily adoptable by community organizations, and community leaders employing programs without consideration of their evidence base. Active for Life® is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-sponsored initiative to learn how to deliver evidence-based physical activity programs to large numbers of mid-life and older adults and to sustain such programs.

Methods: Pilot-year findings are now available from nine grantee sites (representing health, aging, human services, educational, recreational, faith-based, and governmental entities) who have recruited a total of 857 participants into either a telephone-based or group-based behavioral program.

Results: The participants who are primarily female (80%); culturally inclusive (30% minority); and overweight/obese (76%) are much more diverse than participants in research-based studies. Preliminary findings, reported elsewhere, indicate that retention rates and outcomes (e.g., increases in physical activity) are of a similar magnitude to those in traditional efficacy-based research studies. Two novel characteristics of this initiative will be discussed: 1) the identification of essential elements of evidence-based programs and systematic assessment of aspects needing adaptation or modification for different population groups and settings; and 2) a three-step sustainability planning process for helping grantees build the capacity to develop a workable sustainability plan for maintaining activity programs and associated health benefits post grant funding.

Conclusions: This innovative program has demonstrated the ability to translate research into practices that can benefit diverse populations. A learning network is one model for sharing lessons learned with broader audiences.

Learning Objectives:

• •Recognize key challenges in translating research into practice
• •Identify components of a model research to practice program
• •Evaluate strategies for achieving program adaptation and sustainability
• •List three major strategies for disseminating lessons learned

Keywords: Physical Activity, Evidence Based Practice

Related Web page: www.activeforlife.info

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation