Community-based social support for physical activity
Program overview
Increasing physical activity: Community-based social supports for physical activity include a range of interventions that leverage social networks to encourage individuals to adopt and maintain healthier behaviors. These interventions are associated with increased physical activity and improved physical and mental health outcomes.
Building relationships to encourage behavioral change: Social support programs provide individuals with opportunities for physical activity as part of a shared experience with others. Common examples of such programs include “buddy systems,” which pair individuals interested in increasing their physical activity, and walking and other activity groups. The relationships developed while participating in a program provide individuals with support and accountability to increase their level of physical activity.
Supporting broader efforts to promote healthy behavior: Public health departments, healthcare systems, and parks and recreation departments may lead efforts that use social supports to increase physical activity. While these approaches may be effective on their own, they are often incorporated into a broader strategy that also addresses individual and community-level factors that promote physical activity. Such interventions may aim to shift the health behaviors of the community as a whole, or may target specific groups, like K-12 students, individuals with disabilities, or older adults.
- Strategies
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Parks and public spaces
- Cost per Participant
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Not available
Multiple studies with rigorous designs demonstrate that community-based social support programs are a well-established approach to increasing physical activity and improving physical and mental health.
- This assessment is based on evidence from a 2018 systematic review.
Select intended audiences: Community-based social support programs may be most effective when targeted towards specific subpopulations with shared characteristics (e.g., older adults, college students). By segmenting the audience for the program, the implementing organization can tailor aspects of the program, like outreach strategies and the design of program materials, to those specific groups. In some cases, building the relationship between participants may also be easier in groups of individuals with shared experiences.
Ensure programming is accessible: Implementing organizations should ensure that their programming is accessible to individuals with disabilities and chronic health conditions. The Special Olympics offers an Inclusive Sports and Fitness guide, which describes different models of inclusive physical activity programs and provides checklists to assist in implementing them.
Build participant motivation: The health benefits associated with increased physical activity accrue over time. To encourage participants to increase their physical activity levels over a sustained period of time, programs should incorporate strategies to motivate participants. These could include conducting goal-setting activities, providing progress trackers, and offering incentives, among other approaches.
Evaluate the program: By evaluating their programs that leverage social supports to increase physical activity, implementing organizations can demonstrate the program’s effectiveness and identify opportunities for improvement. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offer a program evaluation framework, which can support organizations in engaging in practical, ongoing evaluation.