Using pedometers to help senior volunteers increase activity levels

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Abstract

Seniors experience many health benefits as a result of volunteering, including increased levels of exercise. A Senior Corps program in Michigan uses pedometers to encourage their 150 senior volunteers to take more steps, and to be aware of when they exercise and when they do not. Area restaurants supplied healthy meals and the pedometers to seniors, and the program director supplied instructions on how to use them, along with additional materials on walking and health. Camellia Pisegna, of the Region IV Area Agency on Aging (MI), shared this effective practice on the NSSCTalk e-mail discussion list in July 2004.

Issue

Seniors involved in service activities frequently exercise more than their stay-at-home counterparts. This added exercise is an important health benefit as a direct consequence of volunteering. Encouraging these seniors to keep track of the steps they take — both on days on and days off — helps them see tangible results, which in turn can help engender greater activity levels (where appropriate). Additionally, with measurable evidence, program directors and staff can use this information to continue to procure funding.

Action

According to Cameillia Pisegna, Program Director for the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and Relative Parent Program, effective practices include:

Four local McDonald's restaurants provided "Happy Meals" for the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and Relatives as Parents Program at reduced cost.
Managers from all four restaurants met at one location to put together 130 meals that included crispy chicken salad, a bottle of water and a pedometer (with instructions in Spanish and English).
Participating volunteers are asked to record their steps. The program director has expressed that she is expecting to see a difference on the days when seniors don't volunteer (weekends, when they're on leave of absence or when they are ill) compared to the days when they are at their sites pushing wheelchairs or walking around the playground with a child.
Easy-to-read handouts are provided from select Internet sites about walking in general, walking tips for seniors, and walking tips for people with diabetes.
The instructions provided with the pedometers are enlarged on the copier to 180 percent, so that even seniors with compromised sight can read them.
The program director is researching inclusion issues concerning the pedometer project.

Context

The Program Director of the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and Relative Parent Program attended the 2004 National Council on Aging Conference. While attending a seminar, Dr. Phil Nussbaum, clinical psychologist at Pittsburgh Neuropsychology Center, spoke about the crucial role of the brain in delaying the onset of Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, and contributing to overall good health throughout our lives. Dr. Nussbaum encouraged people not to retire, touting the benefits of volunteering. Bending over to help a child pick up blocks, pushing a resident in a wheelchair, talking with a child during a walk around the playground or simply leaving one's house every day to be with children and other seniors they serve exercises the body as well as the brain.

The Area Agency on Aging, Inc. is a private, not-for-profit corporation. Established in 1974 to develop age-supportive commerce and services, it plays a major role in planning, funding, and delivery of a host of services. Empowerment and independence of the consumer are driving themes behind its efforts. Designated by the State of Michigan to receive federal Older Americans Act funds for planning and development, the corporation manages an array of government contracts for service delivery in southwest Michigan. Its primary service area includes Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties.

In 2004 there are 150 senior volunteers in The Area Agency on Aging programs — Foster Grandparents, Senior Companions, and Family Friends. Prior to their volunteer service, Foster Grandparents learn about working with children with disabilities and students with limited English skills, and Senior Companions learn how to communicate with people with Alzheimer's and dementia.

Outcome

Using the pedometers can potentially help program directors and administers concretely measure the impact of service on seniors' health. These performance measures are attractive to current and potential funders.
As a result of encouraging the volunteers to use their pedometers, seniors experience increased activity. Camellia Pisegna, Program Director for the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and Relative Parent Program, said "Regardless of whether we are able to see measurable results in this experiment, the pedometers are a neat gift that will hopefully encourage more walking."

Evidence

Since the senior volunteers have begun using the pedometers (summer 2004), about 40 of them have been keeping track of their steps. There has been no standardized collection of data as of this writing.

Posted On

October 6, 2004

Resources

NSSCTalk is an e-mail discussion group, created primarily for the participants in the National Senior Service Corps, a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Anyone with related concerns, however, is invited to join in.To subscribe by e-mail, send a blank message to join-nssctalk@lists.etr.org

Or subscribe via the Lyris Listmanager web page at http://lists.etr.org/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=nssctalk/.

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Senior Corps

Keywords:

Seniors

Senior services

Human needs

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