Project Title:   Look Up to Fitness

Amount Funded:   $24,818

About the Organization/Coalition:  
Project partners will include the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Senior Citizens Center, The Providence Place Mall, and local churches in the Providence and Pawtucket areas. Look Up to Fitness is an incentive-based health program that invites inner-city residents to pledge their commitment to a physical activity campaign. Program members will strive to gain points by increasing their fitness knowledge and physical activity program participation.

Project Objectives:  

1. Design and disseminate a Physical Activity Resource Guide that includes state parks, walking and biking trails, swimming and canoeing areas, and fitness facilities throughout the state.
2. Utilize a wellness van to visit various Providence and Pawtucket area locations where people age 50+ may congregate, such as worksites, churches, local malls and senior centers to provide information and recruit participants. Bilingual health promotion coordinators will be available at all recruitment sites.
3. Recruit 500 participants for the program through marketing efforts, such as posters, flyers.
4. Initiate the Look Up to Fitness Program. Participants sign a pledge and set a fitness goal, striving to reach 1,000 points through knowledge about physical activity, self-guided activities, and organized fitness activities. Each participant receives a resource guide, a pedometer and pedometer log, and a chance to win $200 in a raffle.
5. Evaluate the program. Participants will fill out a 20-item fitness questionnaire and a 15-minute fitness knowledge test. A sample will complete the tests again at the end of the program. A program satisfaction survey will also be developed and mailed to a sample of participants.

Progress Report:  
Stage One: Recruiting (April - June, 2003)

• The Look Up to Fitness guide was created through Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island's health promotion and corporate communication's departments. Ten thousand guides were prepared and disseminated to promote interest in the program. There were two incentives to participate: a pedometer that participants received when they requested the guide and signed a program pledge, and a raffle for ten $500 prizes for people to resubmit their activity logs after amassing a certain number of points related to physical activity.
• The guide was promoted in April and May 2003 and was marketed on the BCBSRI website, BCBSRI member magazine (n=300,000), newspaper advertisements (Providence Journal which reaches 233,000 homes), and radio and television spots. In addition, participants were recruited at health and wellness fairs, work sites, senior centers (3 centers, n=62 folks recruited), and through mail drop-offs with other interested organizations.
• Overall, 2,700 individuals were recruited into the overall fitness campaign, with 973 qualifying for the Look Up to Fitness age 50 and older campaign. A majority of respondents in the Look Up to Fitness campaign responded through Blue Cross and Blue Shield advertisements in member newsletters. However, staff also visited three large senior centers and directly recruited members from the community. They demonstrated the program and gave fitness testing to assess if individuals would be able to accomplish goals associated with the overall fitness campaign guide.

Stage Two: Baseline Assessment (July-October 2003)

• After participants signed up by submitting a Look Up to Fitness pledge to complete the program, research staff conducted a baseline survey. This three-wave mail survey included a fitness level survey, a fitness knowledge test, and a demographic questionnaire. Participants received a one-year subscription to Prevention Magazine for sending in the survey.
• Staff randomly selected 500 of the 973 individuals to receive the survey. 352 returned the survey for a 70% response rate.
• Demographics: The population is 73% female and 95% white. They range in age from 50 to 83 with 50% of the sample between the ages of 50-65. Interestingly, the educational attainment of this group is spread between 8th grade or less (33%), some high school (13%), high school graduates (33%), some college and college graduates and above (20%).
• Fitness Knowledge Tests: Individuals answering the fitness knowledge test had to complete a 10-item quiz. Reviewing the answers in aggregate form, individuals, on average, were able to answer 8.3 of the questions correctly on the form.
• Fitness Survey Results: Results from the fitness survey indicated levels of fitness ability and physiological condition on a very poor to very good scale. The population had very good blood pressure control and heart rate. Overall, they also had good aerobic training consistency and activity level. However, their flexibility, muscle strength, endurance, and body fat ratios were fair at best.

Contact Information:  
Michael Manocchia
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island
15 LaSalle Square
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 459-5965