Evaluating communitywide walking interventions

Public health evaluation funding is limited, and hence optimal evaluation principles and methods should be applied to the assessment of communitywide programs. Since sedentary lifestyles and insufficient physical activity contribute to the overall burden of disease, efforts to encourage more walking at the whole population level are an important prevention strategy.This article describes the evaluation methods used and principles learned from four communitywide walking programs conducted by the authors. The application of evaluation design principles, formative and process evaluation, and participatory planning can contribute to the lessons of such community level interventions. Impact evaluation, optimizing research design and examination of mediators, policy, and environmental changes contribute to the scientific base for describing program effectiveness and understanding the mechanisms through which these interventions may work.