Get Fit Colorado: A telephone-based weight loss program for rural residents

Rural residents face specific challenges to participating in weight-loss programs including access to services and the availability of healthy, affordable food in their communities. This presentation will focus on the planning and implementation of a free, bilingual telephone-based pilot program designed to improve the health and weight loss of rural residents in 16 counties of eastern Colorado. The formative research, strategy, program launch and challenges experienced by Get Fit Colorado will be presented and discussed. The program was developed for both Caucasian and Hispanic adults in rural areas with limited access to weight-loss services. Program participants receive a pedometer to monitor their activity level and can choose to call a counselor or be called each week. The health counselor- via the telephone- assesses the participant's progress and provides individualized support and resources for increasing activity level, healthy meal preparation and strategies for weight loss. Of 117 participants currently enrolled in this new program, most have lost 2-10 pounds in three months. One unique aspect of Get Fit Colorado is its utilization of a “push strategy” to recruit participants. This recruitment method relies on physicians and community health centers to encourage participation and enables the program to target individuals with health issues who may not have self-selected into the program. This presentation will illustrate the potential of utilizing telephone-based counseling to address challenges that geographically isolated individuals face to make health and weight loss services accessible, relevant and successful. Importantly, lessons learned in the launch and implementation of the program will also be discussed.