Rural libraries implementing walking groups or walking groups plus civic engagement for walkability in rural...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Community Health
• Health Promotion

Background:

• Rural populations often have insufficient physical activity, contributing to chronic diseases.
• The Socioecological Model highlights individual, social, and community factors influencing physical activity.
• Public libraries can serve as health promotion hubs in rural areas, but often lack capacity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To build rural libraries' capacity for evidence-based health promotion.
• To compare the effectiveness of group-based walking versus a combined walking and civic engagement program on physical activity.
• To evaluate the implementation and cost-effectiveness of these interventions.

Main Methods:

• A comparative effectiveness study will randomize 20 matched towns to either a group-based walking program or a combined walking and civic engagement program.
• 350-400 rural adults will be enrolled, with outcomes assessed at baseline and 6, 12, and 24 months.
• Implementation, cost-effectiveness, and positive deviance analyses will be conducted.

Main Results:

• This section is for study results, which are not yet available in the provided abstract.

Conclusions:

• This study will enhance rural libraries' ability to deliver health promotion programs.
• Findings will inform the relative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of multilevel physical activity interventions in rural settings.
• The research aims to identify successful implementation strategies for rural populations.