This study employed the Wheel of Motivation theory to develop “Easy Walking” intervention program. This program was pilot tested to promote older adults’ physical activity-based self-efficacy in long-term care institutions, elevate their perceptions of Easy Walking in improving walking, and test the feasibility of the program in improving walking.
Methods:
This study was divided into 2 stages. In the first, the Delphi technique was employed to develop the “Easy Walking” intervention program. Ten experts and scholars were invited to participate in the Delphi study and provide evaluations and recommendations based on their interpretations of literature data. Next, they developed the “Easy Walking” intervention program. In the second stage, a 1-group pretest–posttest study design was employed. Subsequently, a total of 30 older adults from long-term care institutions in Pingtung County, Taiwan was selected for a pilot study on the feasibility of a 4-week “Easy Walking” intervention program. After daily intervention for 4 weeks, a structured questionnaire was distributed to collect information on changes in physical activity-based self-efficacy among the older adults as well as changes in their perceptions of Easy Walking in improving walking. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to perform an analysis of the results.
Results:
The “Easy Walking” intervention program had 8 factors of motivation and 25 intervention measures. After the intervention, the average score of self-efficacy for each item increased from 4.50 to 9.63 points (out of 10), where a significant difference in total score was observed in the self-efficacy scale before and after implementing the program (p < .001). The greatest improvement in the mean score between the pretest and posttest was in “the weather is poor” (4 points) and the least improvement was in “performing physical activities is painful” and “no partners are available to perform physical activity with” (1.37 points). For perceptions of Easy Walking in improving walking, the average scores of the subitems were from 3.73 to 4.93 points (out of 5); “safe environment” had the highest score and “walking with a companion” had the lowest score.
Conclusion:
Future studies should use the 8 major factors of motivation described in the Wheel of Motivation theory to develop corresponding assessment tools and conduct controlled studies with large sample sizes, long-term intervention, and various groups, to test the effects of the “Easy Walking” intervention program on the physical self-efficacy of older adults.