A home-based behavioral intervention to promote walking in sedentary ethnic minority women: project WALK

A home-based telephone and mail intervention was evaluated for its effectiveness in promoting walking in a sample of sedentary, ethnic minority women. One hundred twenty-five women (ages 23-54) were randomly assigned to behavioral or brief educational interventions. Women in the 8-week behavioral condition received behavior change materials through the mail and 6 structured telephone counseling sessions. Educational condition participants received a single 5-min telephone call and educational information. Both groups reported significantly increased walking at a 2-month posttest (M change = 86 and 81 min per week for behavioral and educational groups, respectively) and 5-month follow-up (M change = 40 and 52 min per week). A 30-month follow-up of 50 participants indicated both groups continued to report more walking than at baseline. The behavioral intervention was not superior to the educational condition at any assessment point. The findings may be explained as (a) both interventions were equally effective, so extensive telephone counseling is unnecessary; (b) changes over time reflected secular trends; or (c) increases in self-reported walking may be due to socially desirable reporting. Other strategies need to be evaluated for promoting walking that are tailored to the needs of ethnic minority women.