What is WELL AZ?

WELL is 4 weeks in length and consists of facilitated group meetings once each week, combined with individual goal setting and self-monitoring, using a pedometer for feedback.

Following the initial orientation meeting, each group meeting follows a repeating agenda:

1) Individual progress reports

2) A brief group walk (10 minutes the 1st meeting, 20 minutes the 2nd meeting, and 30 minutes the 3rd and 4th meetings)

3) Discussion session to plan strategies and to personalize goal setting for the upcoming week. 

Reflecting on their previous week's average pedometer values, the number of steps taken during the timed walk, and the strategies they intended to use, participants are encouraged to set new personal daily activity goals (measured in number of steps per day) each week.

Between sessions, participants are encouraged to wear their pedometers every day (while awake) and to monitor their activity using a combination of looking at the pedometer frequently for feedback and striving to reach their daily goals. Participants track progress by recording the number of steps taken each day on an activity calendar in the WELL AZ Program participant manual.

At the last group meeting, participants are given a certificate of completion and encouraged to either increase or maintain their new activity levels using the pedometers and activity calendars. 

Why was WELL AZ developed?

According to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, 22.6% of Arizona adults report that they do not engage in any leisure time physical activity. Physical activity is associated with enhanced health and a reduction in all cause mortality.

According to focus groups conducted by the Arizona Department of Health Services, Arizonans report that they are not physically active for many reasons, including lack of time, lack of motivation and uncertainty of the recommended amounts. WELL AZ was developed to educate people that physical activity can be included into their daily routine, to provide motivation, and to embed the recommendations of the Surgeon General (to engage in at least 30-minutes of moderate daily physical activity most days of the week). 

History of WELL AZ

WELL AZ is modeled after the First Step Program; a 12-week program developed in Canada to increase daily physical activity and demystify physical activity recommendations among people with type 2 diabetes and diabetes educators. The First Step Program consists of two phases, the adoption phase and the adherence phase. WELL AZ program is a replica of the adoption phase.