Great questions continue to come in! Recently, Nancy and Erica were wondering about participant tracking and coach collection of Physical Activity data. So let’s start looking into this!
When your DPP starts bi-weekly/monthly sessions, Nancy and her colleagues wonder what are the requirements of documenting physical activity?
According to the 2018 DPRP Standards, “A yearlong cohort of participants must have physical activity (PA) minutes documented during at least 60% of the sessions. Evaluation for this requirement is based on all participants attending at least 3 sessions during months 1-6 and whose time from first session to last session is at least 9 months. At least 5 participants per submission who meet this criterion are required for evaluation. Zero (0) minutes reported will not count as documented PA minutes. It is unlikely that participants are not completing any PA minutes, since the curriculum indicates that even simple activities such as house cleaning and gardening can count as PA minutes.”
So…a minimum of 60% documentation of PA from sessions. Best practice: Document PA for every session, for each participant. And…if someone turns in “0 minutes” of PA, have a conversation!! Did they go shopping…walk their dog…walk to the mailbox twice a day, do a bit of yard work? The CDC recognizes the value of lifestyle activity.
As participants begin the biweekly/monthly sessions, we always want to encourage them to stay active and continually track, but you will report the number of minutes of moderate or brisk physical activity completed during the preceding week (pg 23 DPRP Standards).
But then, we may have a participant, or two who may “refuse” to track PA. So Erica wonders, what are some ways to encourage and motivate them? Here are some suggestions we have gathered from coaches over time:
- Go to the group! Posing this as some great conversation starters–Ex: Who in the group has experienced a “lack of motivation”? What kind of tracking barriers have come up for anyone as you have become more active? The wisdom participants will share with one another is so valuable.
- Using a “Motivation Ruler”–Ask your group: “Look back to a time when you felt things were going well…..”
- Coach: “When it came to PA, what motivated you to become more active and stay more active? (Tap into that “WHY?). On a scale of 1 to 10–10 being “very important to you”– how motivated were you at that time?
- Participant Barb: “I was an 8”.
- Coach: “Why didn’t you say a 7?”
- Participant Barb: “I was sick and tired of feeling sick…or…..I wanted to set a great example for my kids.”
- Coach: (This is a great time to reflect and affirm! )“Your health and family are really important to you! Knowing this about yourself, what comes up as you consider moving forward, tracking, and becoming/staying more active?”
- Participant Barb: I will commit to staying active! Even though it can be hard, my health is important and I do want to set a good example for my kids. So for me, I will take a small step forward! This week, I will commit to taking stairs more than elevators, and begin using a phone app to track my steps–less work!
3. Review the “Decisional Balance” video.
Using a wipe off board, create and provide this exercise for your participants to
complete before class begins, along with the Motivation Ruler (#2). A great tool to help
participants rediscover their “WHY”–at a time when they may be experiencing
ambivalence (ie, stuck on the fence). A great conversation will follow!
These are just some of the ideas shared over time…don’t hesitate to join our social media groups to post your ideas and questions!
- Facebook: DPP Lifestyle Coaches
- LinkedIn: DPP Lifestyle Coach
- OR….reach out to laurie@stateofwellness.org!