Implementation result of the “Walk fast” learning station in the Civil Workers Heart Health Promotion project.

Abstract

Objective : To evaluate the success of the “Walk Fast” learning station in increasing the physical activities of the participants at a sufficient level for health promotion.

Methods : The “Walk Fast" learning station is an activity in the “Heart Health Promotion for Civil Workers and Families Project" which is a 12 - week health promotion program aiming to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases among the targeted population. The participants were encouraged to increase their physical activities by incorporating brisk walking into their daily life. Its success was evaluated by satisfaction survey and “modified 6 - minute walk test" (6MWT) for all participants on the first and the last days of the program.

Results : All 667 civil workers and family members who were enrolled and completed the program were included in this analysis. The “modified 6-minute walk distance" (6MWD) on the first and last days were 656.39 and 664.96 meters for male, and 617.08 and 635 meters for female participants, had significant improvement in distance in the female with, the aged group of 50 - 59 and over 60 years old (p < 0.05). While the expected 6MWDs were 556.36 and 548.93 meters respectively formale and female. The proportion of participants whose 6MWDs meet the expected distances for male and female participants increased from 74.1 and 69.1 percents on the first day to 75.5 and 73.1 percents on the last day. The satisfaction survey showed that the participants were satisfied or very satisfied with each aspect of the activity around 75.4- 95.3 percents. The utility aspect of the activity achieved the highest satisfaction.

Conclusion : The result showed that the “Walk Fast" activity is applicable for health promotion to increase physical activity among Thai adult population.