142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Home Events & Meetings Annual Meeting Schedule & Program

Online Program

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

311818
Physical Health Outcomes of a Community Dog Walking Program: Walk a Hound, Lose a Pound

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014 : 1:30 PM - 1:50 PM

Rebecca Johnson, PhD, RN FAAN, FNAP , Sinclair School of Nursing,Research Center for Human Animal Interaction, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
Jessica Bibbo , Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction, Columbia, MO
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
The Walk a Hound Lose a Pound (WAHLAP) program was a community based intervention developed to encourage physical activity by utilizing the potential social support provided by a friendly dogs in need of exercise.  Community members walked dogs from the local humane society every Saturday morning from April through October.  This is a study of the data collected from the first five years of the WAHLAP program which examined whether participation was related to decreased BMI and increase in behavioral intention to exercise (PASOC). 

A total of 281 people participated in the study; the majority of participants were women (n = 225; men n = 56).  Participation was measured in number of weeks data were collected for each participant.   The average number of weeks participated was 3.91 (n = 280, SD = 3.74) and ranged from one to 25 weeks.  A regression analysis found the independent variable of number of weeks participated accounted for a significant amount of the variance (η2 = .079) in BMI change score, F(1, 242) = 21.9, p < .001.  A regression analysis found the independent variable of number of weeks participated accounted for a significant amount of the variance (η2 = .032) in PASOC change score F(1, 255) = 8.441, p = .004.

Results suggested involvement in the program was associated with decreased BMI and an increase in the behavioral intention to exercise.  The WAHLAP model has the potential to be implemented and to benefit the well-being of a wide range of communities.

Learning Areas:

Other professions or practice related to public health
Public health or related education
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe the physical benefits of community members engaged in a weekly shelter dog walking program

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Dr. Rebecca Johnson, PhD, RN, FAAN, FNAP is the Millsap Professor of Gerontological Nursing and Public Policy at the MU Sinclair School of Nursing, an associate professor in the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery in the College of Veterinary Medicine, and is director of the Research Center for Human Animal Interaction (ReCHAI). Her work in the area of the health benefits of human-companion animal interaction aims to facilitate well-being for humans and animals.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4262.0: Benefits of the human-animal interaction