Less than half of American women are sufficiently active to reduce their risk for chronic disease (BRFSS, 2005). Current evidence emphasizes the importance of creating programs to increase physical activity that encompass multiple levels of the social environment. The primary purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of a social ecological intervention to increase walking among sedentary women. The intervention was delivered at the organizational level (church), and walking was operationalized as average steps/day measured by the New-Lifestyles Digi-Walker SW 200 pedometer. A convenience sample of N = 7 Christian churches in the Greater Columbus area participated in the study, and women were recruited from the cooperating churches into the social ecological intervention group (SE: n = 20) or a self-monitoring only comparison group (SM: n = 18). Both groups monitored their steps/day over the 10 week study. In addition, women in the SE group attended four sessions designed to target intrapersonal (self-efficacy, and self-regulation), and interpersonal (social network and group cohesion) levels of the social environment.
Both groups significantly increased their steps/day from pretest to follow up (p < .001). This increase was significantly greater among women in the SE intervention group compared to women in the SM comparison group (+2660 ± 1969 steps/day vs. +1316 ± 1925, p < .05). The intervention had a significant impact on self-regulatory self-efficacy and the social network index church among SE women only. Self-regulation and social support for physical activity significantly increased over time (p < .001), but the difference between the groups was not significant. Associations in the SE intervention group between change in steps/day and self-regulatory self-efficacy (r = .309), and the social network index church (r = .305) suggest these variables were possible mediators of the intervention on steps/day. Associations between change in steps/day with BMI (r = -.435, p < .001), age (r = .453, p < .01) and education (r = .391, p < .05) imply their role as moderators of the intervention on steps/day. The findings support including multiple levels of the social environment when designing interventions to increase physical activity among sedentary women.