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Effect of a six‐week walking program on work place activity limitations among adults with arthritis
Author(s) -
Nyrop Kirsten A.,
Charnock Brian L.,
Martin Kathryn R.,
Lias Jennifer,
Altpeter Mary,
Callahan Leigh F.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
arthritis care and research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.032
H-Index - 163
eISSN - 2151-4658
pISSN - 2151-464X
DOI - 10.1002/acr.20604
Subject(s) - medicine , physical therapy , body mass index
Objective To conduct an exploratory evaluation of the impact of the Arthritis Foundation's evidence‐based Walk With Ease (WWE) program on work place activity limitations of adults with self‐reported or doctor‐diagnosed arthritis. Methods WWE participants who were self‐identified as “employed” completed the Workplace Activity Limitation Scale (WALS) at 6‐week (postintervention; n = 94) and 1‐year followup (n = 69). Paired t ‐tests were used to determine whether reduced work place limitations were reported at 6 weeks and maintained at 1‐year followup. Results Participants were on average age 55 years, 88% women, and 61% white. The mean body mass index was 32 kg/m 2 , and 81% had more than a high school education. Overall WALS scores improved significantly from a mean ± SD of 6.7 ± 3.99 at baseline to 5.5 ± 4.20 at 6‐week followup ( P < 0.001, effect size 0.30). Improvements were maintained at 1‐year followup, i.e., no change from 6‐week followup ( P = 0.87). Work place activities reported by participants as “some” or “a lot” of difficulty at baseline, i.e., “crouch/bend/kneel/work in awkward positions,” “stand for long periods,” and “lift/carry/move objects,” showed some of the highest improvements at 6 weeks. “Concentrate/keep your mind on the job” also improved significantly, although it was not rated as a substantial difficulty at baseline. Conclusion Our study provides encouraging evidence that WWE, a brief, low‐cost, and easy‐to‐do community‐based walking program, may provide both immediate and sustained benefits for people with self‐reported arthritis who also report a range of work place limitations related to their arthritis symptoms.