BackgroundParticipACTION is a Canadian physical activity (PA) communications and social marketing organization that was relaunched in 2007 after a six-year hiatus. This study assesses the baseline awareness and capacity of Canadian organizations that promote physical activity, to adopt, implement and promote ParticipACTION's physical activity campaign. The three objectives were: (1) to determine organizational awareness of both the 'original' and 'new' ParticipACTION; (2) to report baseline levels of three organizational capacity domains (i.e., to adopt, implement and externally promote physical activity initiatives); and, (3) to explore potential differences in those domains based on organizational size, sector and primary mandate.MethodsOrganizations at local, provincial/territorial, and national levels were sent an invitation via email prior to the official launch of ParticipACTION to complete an on-line survey. The survey assessed their organization's capacity to adopt, implement and externally promote a new physical activity campaign within their organizational mandates. Descriptive statistics were employed to address the first two study objectives. A series of one-way analysis of variance were conducted to examine the third objective.ResultsThe response rate was 29.7% (268/902). The majority of responding organizations had over 40 employees and had operated for over 10 years. Education was the most common primary mandate, followed by sport and recreation. Organizations were evenly distributed between government and not-for-profits. Approximately 96% of respondents had heard of the 'original' ParticipACTION while 54.6% had heard of the 'new' ParticipACTION (Objective 1). Findings indicate good organizational capacity in Canada to promote physical activity (Objective 2) based on reported means of approximately 4.0 (on 5-point scales) for capacity to adopt, implement, and externally promote new physical activity campaigns. Capacity to adopt new physical activity campaigns differed by organizational sector and mandate, and capacity to implement differed by organizational mandate (Objective 3).ConclusionAt baseline, and without specific details of the campaign, respondents believe they have good capacity to work with ParticipACTION. ParticipACTION may do well to capitalize on the existing strong organizational capacity components of leadership, infrastructure and 'will' of national organizations to facilitate the success of its future campaigns.

The authors conducted a secondary analysis on 202 adults from the Physical Activity Workplace Study. The aim of this analysis was to examine demographic characteristics associated with reading Canada's Physical Activity Guide (CPAG), being motivated by the guide, and whether participants in the Physical Activity Workplace Study who read the CPAG increased their physical activity levels over 1 year. Results revealed that less than 50% of participants read the full version of CPAG, and less than 10% were motivated by it. The CPAG also appears to be more appealing to and effective for women than for men. Although the CPAG had some influence in increasing mild physical activity levels in a workplace sample, there was also a decrease in physical activity levels among some members of the group. Overall, the effectiveness of CPAG was not substantial, and the findings of this analysis could help guide future targeted intervention materials and programs.

1 2 RATIONALE: Improvements in health outcomes following Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) are often lost within 12 months following PR as patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) fail to adhere to their exercise programs. Previous studies have used ongoing support from a respiratory professional to maintain exercise after PR; however, peer support programs have been proposed as a potential model to maintain healthy behaviors. We conducted a randomized controlled trial examining the effects of Peer Educator (PE) support vs. Respiratory Therapist (RT) support following PR. The purpose of this study was to compare patients' perceptions following either intervention. As COPD is a complex disease, and patients frequently have questions regarding their disease, we hypothesized that the RT support program would result in greater patient satisfaction as compared to PE support program. METHODS: 168 patients (mean age = 70±9yrs, FEV =57±22% predicted) completed a 6-8 week outpatient PR program. As part of PR, an exercise action plan was created for 1 each patient. Patients were subsequently randomized into one of three groups: 1. PE support, 2. Usual Care, 3. RT support. PE and RT support received 8 phone calls over a 6 month period. Each phone call consisted of standardized questions asked by either the PE or RT. Each patient was counseled about overcoming barriers to exercise based upon their responses. At the end of 6 months patients were interviewed by an independent person regarding their satisfaction with their support program. RESULTS: After the first phone call, 17 (10%) declined receiving any further phone calls. A total of 61 patients from the RT or PT groups were interviewed at 6 months. Of the patients receiving RT support, 91% were very satisfied. Only 1 patient stated that the program did not meet their needs, but they remained satisfied. Of the patients receiving PE support, 69% were very satisfied; one patient reported not being satisfied. When each patient was asked which program they would have preferred only 1 (3%) patient in the RT support program stated they would prefer PE support, whereas 8 (28%) of the patients in the PE support program would have preferred the RT support. Typical responses were that patients would have preferred receiving support from a medical professional. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, patients were satisfied with the support program. In comparing PE vs. RT support programs to maintain exercise following rehabilitation, COPD patients preferred support from a respiratory professional over one of their peers. This abstract is funded by: Alberta