Library

10,000 Steps Rockhampton Project Outcomes

Physical Activity Behaviour Summary

PDF version

Introduction

In 2001, Health Promotion Queensland funded the 10,000 Steps Rockhampton project as an innovative community-based, multi-strategy health promotion program focusing on increasing health-related physical activity at a population level. The specific aim of the project was to increase the prevalence of health-related physical activity in the adult population of Rockhampton, Queensland. This paper presents the results relating to the level and change of community physical activity in the intervention (Rockhampton) and comparison (Mackay) communities between 2001 and 2003.

  • Location

Rockhampton is a typical regional city in Queensland, Australia of approximately 60,000 people. The
city straddles the Tropic of Capricorn, placing it in the region known as the ‘dry tropics’. It is the major trading centre of a region of over 125,000 people and lies approximately 700 kilometres north of the capital, and major population centre of Brisbane.

  • Project Team

This project was conducted by a team of researchers from Central Queensland University (CQU), The University of Queensland (UQ) and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in collaboration with members of the Rockhampton community. The implementation of the project was directed by a Local Physical Activity Task Force (LPATF) who worked with the community to develop and implement strategies.

  • Project Approach

Five strategies were developed to increase population prevalence of physical activity. These strategies built on previous programs conducted by the project team and include:

  1. Local Media Campaigns
  2. Promotion of physical activity through general practice and other health services
  3. Improving Social Support among Disadvantaged Groups
  4. Policy and Environmental Change
  5. Community Micro-Grant Scheme
  • Project Branding

The project adopted a consistent ‘brand’ aimed at clearly promoting the accumulation of daily physical activity. The brand - ‘10,000 Steps’ - formed an innovative and distinct product to unify the multi-strategy program. The establishment of this brand, along with the use of pedometers as tangible social marketing tools for the promotion of daily physical activity, was an Australian first.

Results

The primary outcome evaluation was completed by means of pre- and post- intervention computer-assisted-telephone-interview (CATI) surveys of Rockhampton, and its comparison community, Mackay, Queensland. Levels of physical activity in both communities at both time points were assessed by the use of the Active Australia Questionnaire, a widely-used measure of physical activity in the Australian population.

  • Levels of Sufficient Physical Activity

Sufficient physical activity for health benefit was defined as reporting a minimum of 150 minutes of activity conducted in five or more sessions in the week prior to the survey. Activity levels for the two cities at the two time points are presented below.

Overall residents
• A 1% Increase in the proportion of Rockhampton residents who were sufficiently active for health benefit between 2001 and 2003
• A 7% Decline in the proportion of Mackay residents who were sufficiently active for health benefit
between 2001 and 2003

Men
• A 4% Decline in the proportion of Rockhampton men who were sufficiently active for health benefit
between 2001 and 2003
• A 9% Decline in the proportion of Mackay men who were sufficiently active for health benefit between
2001 and 2003

Women
• A 4% Decline in the proportion of Mackay women who were sufficiently active for health benefit
between 2001 and 2003
• A 5% Increase in the proportion of Rockhampton women who were sufficiently active for health benefit between 2001 and 2003

  • Levels of Sufficient Physical Activity plus any Vigorous

National physical activity guidelines ask people to add vigorous activity to their routine where possible. Sufficient physical activity plus any vigorous was
defined as reporting a minimum of 150 minutes of activity conducted in five or more sessions in the week prior to the survey with some of the total time being comprised of vigorous activity. Activity levels for the two cities at the two time
points are presented below.

Overall Residents
• A 3% Increase in the proportion of Rockhampton residents who were sufficiently active with any vigorous activity benefit between 2001 and 2003
• A 3% Decrease in the proportion of Mackay residents who were sufficiently active with any vigorous
activity benefit between 2001 and 2003

Men
• A 1% Increase in the proportion of Rockhampton men who were sufficiently active with any vigorous
activity benefit between 2001 and 2003
• A 4% Decrease in the proportion of Mackay men who were sufficiently active with any vigorous activity
benefit between 2001 and 2003

Women
• A 6% Increase in the proportion of Rockhampton women who were sufficiently active with any vigorous activity benefit between 2001 and 2003
• A 2% Decrease in the proportion of Mackay women who were sufficiently active with any vigorous
activity benefit between 2001 and 2003

View a PDF version of these outcomes.