Evaluation of an information-based health promotion intervention to increase physical activity for people with physical disabilities

Prior research has shown that the provision of information targeted at specific populations has been shown to be efficacious in increasing knowledge about the benefits of increasing physical activity and changing nutritional behaviors to achieve healthy weight. This presentation will present evaluation findings from a six-week, information based health promotion targeted at people who are paralyzed or with other physical disabilities. A series of six e-mails was sent to over 800 people, with each targeting a different aspect of increasing physical activity or improving nutritional habits. At the end of the six weeks, an on-line impact evaluation was sent to participants. The findings were clear that people who had participated in the evaluation significantly increased their knowledge about the benefits of physical activity as well changed their physical activity and nutrition habits. These findings add to the body of knowledge concerning health promotion interventions. While most interventions are based on activities and are thus costly, information-only health promotion interventions are cost-effective and can produce efficacious results.