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Phase: Feedback

CAPS: Community, Attitude, Posture, Strength

We want to use facilitated group walks with walking poles to improve seniors' physical strength, posture, attitude, and community.

Photo of Rhiannon Gallagher
21 6

Written by

Who is your idea designed for and how does it enable older adults to live their best possible life by preventing falls?

Our idea works for any senior, but it is particularly designed for those who are recovering from illness or injury and have lost confidence about their ability to walk, connect, and build strength.

We think the ‘best life’ is one with health and community. We feel community brings about a more hopeful and active attitude, posture improvements bring safer movement and protection from falls, and strength brings both protection and easier recovery.
Our project is led and inspired by Betty and Harold Payte, shown here hitting the trails at 85 and 87, with their walking poles. Our project is led and inspired by Betty and Harold Payte, shown here hitting the trails at 85 and 87, with their walking poles.

Too often, we see fear of falling or frustration with fall recovery keep seniors in their homes and off their feet. We think this idea can help, we just need the OpenIDEO community to help optimize it.

We know that:

  • community is key to a thriving longevity, and walking in community feels safer because you won’t be alone if you fall
  • attitude is improved when people are getting outside and getting contact with and support from their peers
  • posture is improved by use of walking poles, which keep the back straight and the person upright and balanced, reducing their fall risk
  • strength is improved with regular pole walking, so falls are both less likely and less devastating. Poles are better for upper body strength and for cardiovascular health than regular walking.

What early, lightweight experiment might you try out in your own community to find out if the idea will meet your expectations?

We have been facilitating group walks in our community for about three years. Most of our walkers are seniors, and two of our octogenarians are helping to design this project. They have been teaching others, both healthy folks and those recovering from injury or illness, how to use the poles on their walks. So we know, anecdotally, that it works. But we haven’t had the resources to roll it out on the scale we’d like or to document the evidence in more formal ways.

What skills, input, or guidance from the OpenIDEO community would be most helpful in building out or refining your idea?

We would love ways to bring senior walkers out, particularly methods that don’t require a lot of technology savvy. We’re local right now, we need ideas about scaling up. We’d also like ideas on how to convince places like Senior Centers and Care Facilities to take the leap and let their residents/clients outside for a walk with us. Finally, the poles are an expense for people on tight incomes. We need funding ideas and creativity from the community.

How long has your idea existed?

  • Over 1 year

This idea emerged from

  • An Individual

Tell us about your work experience:

My background is in user experience research and design for web applications and software. I’ve learned that you can’t design without your target audience in the room, making sure you reflect their values, language, and approach. I also lead walks with Walk2Connect, where I met Harold and Betty.
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Attachments (2)

CAPSOneSheet.pdf

CAPSHaroldandBetty.pdf

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Inspired by (8)

Interview Summary: Active Older Adults at NYC's McBurney YMCA
Interview Summary: Active Older Adults at NYC's McBurney YMCA
Interview with an Occupational Therapist/Senior Group Fitness Instructor
Interview with an Occupational Therapist/Senior Group Fitness Instructor
Patterns of inconveniences among various mobility devices
Patterns of inconveniences among various mobility devices
The cane is a pain, but only having one free hand to use is almost worse
The cane is a pain, but only having one free hand to use is almost worse
Past Experiences With Elderly
Past Experiences With Elderly
Reactions from an elder after falling.
Reactions from an elder after falling.
Wanderlust: An app to connect walkers [Updated 26/05: project description]
Wanderlust: An app to connect walkers [Updated 26/05: project description]
Don't fall in the first place!
Don't fall in the first place!

21 comments

Join the conversation:

Comment
Photo of Bettina Fliegel
Team

Hi Rhiannon. This is such a great initiative. What is the issue with Senior Centers allowing seniors to join your walks? In NYC we have a Big Apple Walking Club for Seniors. This is in collaboration with Senior Centers. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dfta/html/health/health.shtml
In terms of poles have you considered using ski poles in addition to trekking poles? That might increase the pool available? Have you thought about contacting local Good Will and other thrift stores and asking them to contact you if people donate poles? Maybe your senior walking group, in partnership with local community members, can do a Walk to Raise Funds For More Poles Event, like a 5K for senior wellness? (not sure how far they walk, maybe a 2k?)

Sounds like a lot of fun! Hope you can expand to other communities!

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Photo of Rhiannon Gallagher
Team

So many good ideas!
1. I think the Centers that provide day services are an easier sell than residential facilities.
2. Ski poles are a little different, but they are more affordable.
3. I love the thrift store idea.
4. Our current walks are about 3 miles, I like the fundraiser idea.

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Photo of Bettina Fliegel
Team

Hi again! Wouldn't it be great if there was a "Go Fund Me" type of service where one could ask for donations of things, such as walking poles, rather than money?
I wonder if linking a fundraiser walk with a request for donations of poles, in addition to raising money, might get the word out for donations?

Have you thought about recruiting seniors to join walks via partnering with community health centers? I wonder if they might want to partner as a way to encourage seniors to exercise while providing a fun, social way to do it? This might also serve them in terms of highlighting fall prevention for their community? Also, they are part of networks. Maybe a way to scale the idea?

https://www.facebook.com/coloradocommunityhealthcenters/

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Photo of Rhiannon Gallagher
Team

Thanks so much. I love your Go Fund Me idea - I'm doing a walk next week about borrowing shops, which might be an interesting option as well. Harold and Betty do a "Walk with a Doc" that is, I think, associated with Denver Health, so it might be a good model for the kind of partnership you're talking about. I also wonder if the reason that walk works is that people are more willing to try walking if they know there's a medical person walking with them.

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Photo of Bettina Fliegel
Team

This is great! I had never heard of "Walk With A Doc". ( I am a doc, so thanks for sharing this! I am a pediatrician.) I briefly checked their website. There are walks throughout out the US. Not sure if the motivation is that a doctor is there. I was thinking they might like it because it is a group and social. Maybe ask Harold and Betty why the walkers keep showing up for that walk to get insights?

What do you mean you are doing a walk about borrowing shops? Is this part of the sharing economy? Intrigued to learn more.

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Photo of Rhiannon Gallagher
Team

I'm so glad to help you discover Walk With a Doc. I don't know that it's an attraction, it's just a theory that maybe people who are worried about falling might feel better that way.

Borrowing shops are like tool libraries, but for general stuff - they are gaining a lot of ground in Europe. You pay a membership fee and then can borrow a punch bowl or a card table or a chainsaw or - in this case - some poles to try out.

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Photo of Monica
Team

As a senior I feel this is a good idea and having conversations with local physiotherapy services might be a way forward.

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Photo of Rhiannon Gallagher
Team

Thanks! I agree. Harold and Betty do a weekly "Walk with a Doc" which is where many seniors try their first walk with us. It would be easy to add physiotherapy professionals into the mix as well.

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Photo of Bettina Fliegel
Team

This is a great idea! A PT might demonstrate and do different exercises with the group at different walks. Balance, Strength etc. They could then continue at home.

Rhiannon - Do you know if they do any "walks" where the topic discussed is fall prevention? I saw on the Walk With A Doc website that each walk is started with a brief talk on a medical topic.

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Photo of Joanna Spoth
Team

Hi Rhiannon Gallagher ! So neat to hear of the work you're doing and glad to have your idea in the Challenge. I'm wondering if you've taken a look at Valentina Sierra 's idea. Could be a great foundation for collaboration between the impact and learnings you already have from your work and Valentina's design + tech focus.

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Photo of Rhiannon Gallagher
Team

I did look at her idea - it's listed as one of our inspirations. Right now, our walkers find us primarily through Meetup, which they're using for finding other social groups as well. They don't usually use the app, they are accessing it through the website. I do wonder how many seniors are using smart phones, and how many are downloading and using apps.

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Photo of Kate Rushton
Team

HI Rhiannon!

I found this article today and thought of your idea. Is this possible in the US?

Japanese insurer will pay you for walking
Tokyo Marine to team up with cellphone carrier on health policies
http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Japanese-insurer-will-pay-you-for-walking

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Photo of Rhiannon Gallagher
Team

This is great! Kate, I'd love to put you on our team list, you're thinking great thoughts.

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Photo of Center for Active Living
Team

Very cool idea. Have you thought of connecting with a local school systems (ie. high school, college, university,etc)? Often students have service assignments or class projects which could provide walking partners for seniors and help students better understand the older population. Our research " Young and Old Together" highlights the benefits of inter-generational experiences.

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Photo of Rhiannon Gallagher
Team

Thanks - we haven't really thought about that, but we should. The walks we do now tend to be in the middle of the day, to meet folks' driving comfort, so we hadn't considered students as an option. But I can see pairing the student concept with the Living Facility approach, where time of day is less of an issue.

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Photo of Nicole Huguenin
Team

We actually have thought of this in other areas of Walk2Connect. Unfortunately, there are a lot of laws in our state that require any adult to be fingerprinted when interacting with younger folks in a formal manner. Being a mostly volunteer run organization, where our community walk leaders run and lead their walks, we allow this connection to happen naturally and it happens often. We've had several folks lead Grandparent Stroller Walks with and for their grandkids, we've also trained adults 18-55 to be 1-1 companion walkers for older adults with mobility issues. We partner with A Little Help to match those volunteers with the older adults. These 1-1 relationships would be a great way to introduce the poles to folks as they rehabilitate from prior injuries or return to having confidence in walking.

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Photo of Kate Rushton
Team

Hi Rhiannon!

Thank you for sharing Walk2Connect with us and Harold and Betty.

I am wondering if you could share the canes in a similar way to Sharable Devices For Fall Prevention 

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Photo of Rhiannon Gallagher
Team

I wonder that too. The poles adjust for height, and the bungee poles can be adjusted for tension, so stronger walkers can get more of an upper body workout. I'd want to test how easy it is for people to make the adjustments regularly. But I like the idea of having a cache of poles that comes to walks, it would solve the expense worry.

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Photo of Kate Rushton
Team

Hi Rhiannon,

How much are the poles?

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Photo of Nicole Huguenin
Team

These particular poles are through BungyPumpUS. However, I'm certain, with a little thought and partnership we can create a system that allows for sharing of poles, almost like a mobile Bike Lending library. That's how we started with Betty and Harold, they were lent to them until they could afford their own and now they do the same for others.

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Photo of Rhiannon Gallagher
Team

If you want to hear Betty (and a little bit of Harold) talking about group walking in general, here's a video from Walk2Connect: https://vimeo.com/136226943

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