What has been done?
In 1997, a statewide Partnership was established that combined the resources of the Arizona College of Public Health (COPH) and Cooperative Extension (CE). An essential component of the Community Health Advancement Partnership (CHAPS) was to help communities contain health care costs through the development and evaluation of effective lifestyle programs that can be maintained in a community and replicated in other communities.
One CHAPS program is the "Walk Across Arizona" campaign. The vision of the Walk Across Arizona campaign is to encourage individuals and families to increase their participation in activities that promote a healthy lifestyle. The ultimate goal is to increase satisfaction with the community and decrease social isolation of residents within communities.
The Walk Across Arizona walking club concept was developed in Pima County by CHAPS as part of a "Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle" sub-committee of the Green Valley Health and Human Services Committee. Walk Across Arizona was based on similar walking programs in other regions of the country. Community task force members were identified, and regular meetings have been held since September of 2000 with CHAPS acting as the lead agency. The theoretical basis for the program was to use social support networks to increase physical activity levels within the community by developing and maintaining walking clubs.
How can we possibly walk across Arizona? It's simple.
- Join us in an 8 week walking program designed for teams of up to 10 people.
- Encourage your pals, neighbors, co-workers, and family to form teams and build a healthy habit and walk for fitness.
- Report your miles to team captains each week. Team mileage is recorded at this site and may be posted around your community.
- Pay a nominal registration fee for cost recovery of materials and program incentives.
- Additional sponsorship from community agencies and businesses are being sought to provide extra incentives at the program kick-off and 8 week completion celebration.
- To evaluate the success and benefits of the walking program, entry, exit, and tracking forms are developed to characterize the participants, and to track their physical activity habits, levels of energy, social interaction, and satisfaction with their community.
- Participate in community kick-off and celebration events.
- Receive incentives for recording mileage and returning wrap-up forms.
- Go to your county page to learn more about this program in your community.