A "Stand Up and Move More" Intervention for Older Adults

Based on successful pilot research in Rock County, WI, and the receipt of funding from the National Institutes of Health, the investigators expanded research to additional counties in Wisconsin for a total of four counties (i.e., Dane, Iowa, Rock, and Vilas counties). Sample size will increase and participants will be randomly assigned to the intervention group (Stand Up and Move More group) or a wait-list control group (who receive the intervention after 12 weeks). The Stand Up and Move More intervention/workshop involves sessions once/week for four weeks with a refresher session at 8 weeks. Assessments will be conducted before the intervention/workshop begins, and then again at 4 weeks and 12 weeks. We have added several questionnaires to examine potential mediators of behavior change (e.g., self-efficacy, self-regulation, outcome expectancies).

Inclusion criteria

• adults older than 55 yrs of age
• inactive or low active (i.e., less than 60 minutes of physical activity/week)
• residents of Dane, Iowa, Rock or Vilas counties, and
• residing in a home or an apartment.

Exclusion criteria

• low levels of sedentary behavior (less than or equal to 6 hours/day),
• recent hospitalization (i.e., past month),
• uncontrolled medical conditions including: uncontrolled hypertension, heart disease, actively receiving chemotherapy or palliative care for cancer, stage 4 liver disease, end-stage renal or pulmonary disease, severe arthritis or any other orthopedic condition that could be made worse by standing up and moving more;
• inability to stand up without assistance of another person, and
• inability to speak or hear spoken English.