10,000 Steps Rockhampton : evaluation of a whole community approach to improving population levels of physical activity

Objectives: To describe the effectiveness of a multi-strategy physical activity (PA) intervention. Methods: Self-report data from random samples were collected prior to and following intervention. Social marketing, healthcare provider, and environmental strategies were concurrently implemented with a central coordinating theme of “10,000 Steps Rockhampton.” Results: There was evidence of significant project reach and awareness. The downward trend in PA seen in the comparison community (48.3% to 41.9% “active”) was not evident in Rockhampton. Women were the “early adopters” in this project; with an increase of 5% (95% CI: –0.6, 10.6) in the percent categorized as “active” (compared with decreases among women in the comparison community and among men in both communities). Conclusions: High levels of project awareness, combined with modest increases in activity levels in women, demonstrate initial project effects. Longer term interventions, focusing on sustainable individual, social, and environmental change strategies are needed to maintain and improve this result.