A Community-based Social Networking Intervention to Increase Walking in Dog Owners

• Weekly steps [ Time Frame: baseline and 6 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  Pedometers that record 7-days of data will be used to measure steps at baseline and 6 months
• weekly dog walking minutes [ Time Frame: baseline and 6 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  Self-reported minutes of dog walking measured using the DAPA tool.
• social support for walking [ Time Frame: baseline and 6 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  Self-reported social support for walking
• sense of community [ Time Frame: baseline and 6 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  self-reported sense of community

The present study aims to initially test a community dog walking intervention that addresses individual, interpersonal and community factors associated with dog walking. The study will be conducted in two cities, Worcester and Lowell, as a collaboration between investigators from UMass Medical School and UMass-Lowell.

This is a group randomized trial where 8 communities in Worcester and Lowell (4 per city) will be randomly assigned to the 6-month dog walking intervention or a standard, self-help, print-based physical activity control condition. Dog owners (N=120; 15 per community) will be recruited. The intervention includes a social networking website, monthly newsletters, twice monthly neighborhood dog walks and community events. The intervention will: 1) educate owners about the benefits of dog walking to themselves and their dog, 2) teach strategies for regular dog walking, 3) teach dog walking tips and provide dog training seminars, 4) promote self-monitoring and goal setting for dog walking, 5) provide social networking opportunities for dog owners and 6) promote a sense of community via participation in neighborhood dog walks and community events. Intervention feasibility will be assessed by measures of implementation success, including recruitment and retention rates, website use, intervention satisfaction and attendance at neighborhood walks and community events. Initial efficacy will be assessed via change in weekly steps measured via a pedometer from baseline to 6-months after baseline.

• Active Comparator: American Heart Association
  Participants will receive handouts on increasing physical activity derived from the American Heart Association materials on increasing physical activity.
  Intervention: Behavioral: Community-based social networking intervention
• Experimental: Dog Walking
  The 6-month dog walking intervention involves 5 components to address the individual, interpersonal and community levels of the socio-ecological model: newsletters, pedometers, social networking website, neighborhood dog walks, and invitations to community events.
  Intervention: Behavioral: Community-based social networking intervention

Inclusion Criteria:

• Eligible participants will own a dog that is in good health and considered a household pet, be a Worcester or Lowell resident, be aged > 21 years old and have home internet access. Participants with cardiovascular disease, diabetes or other chronic health condition are eligible with permission from their PCP to participate.

Exclusion Criteria:

Participants will be excluded for any of the following:

1. Inability or unwillingness to give informed consent
2. Plans to move out of the area within the study period
3. Participated in a focus group during the developmental phase
4. Another household member is participating in the study
5. Pregnant or planning a pregnancy in the next six months
6. Condition that inhibits exercise (e.g., unable to walk unaided, or cannot walk 1/4 mile without stopping)
7. Incapable of engaging in physical activity as assessed by the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire
8. Self-report engaging in > 150 minutes of moderate and vigorous intensity physical activity per week.
9. The participant's dog has a history of biting a human or has not received a rabies vaccination.