Abstract
Twenty years after its inception, Walk with a Doc is translating prevention into action by motivating people to walk, get educated, and connect with others. Founded by David Sabgir, MD, in 2005, Walk with a Doc (https://walkwithadoc.org) brings people into community to walk with a health care professional—combining physical activity, social connection, health education, and access to clinicians. To date, Walk with a Doc has been extremely successful, with more than 640 chapters in 48 states and 40 countries across the globe.
Dr. Sabgir said, “Our leaders are walking the talk, which speaks volumes in regard to how much they care and how important it is, for all of us. Physical inactivity, social isolation and loneliness, chronic disease prevention (cardiometabolic risk), and mental health are all top concerns in our world today. Our Walk with a Doc groups can positively affect all of them.”
Dr. Sabgir, a cardiologist in Columbus, Ohio, began this grassroots movement as he was frustrated with his inability to affect lasting behavior change in his patients. He invited his patients to go for a walk with him in a local park, and many patients and community members showed up ready to engage in physical exercise. Sabgir stated, “Clinicians are high-trust sources; when they show up and recommend walking, patients take it more seriously.”
The program continued to grow, and in 2009, Walk with a Doc became an official nonprofit organization and added an Executive Director with a focus on building a program that could easily be implemented in other cities around the country. As a result of these efforts, the reach of Walk with a Doc now extends around the globe, including Walk with a FUTURE Doc (chapters led by medical students) and Just Walk (chapters led by other licensed health care providers), according to the website.
Sabgir said, “Walk with a Doc is a population-level preventive intervention that doesn’t require a heavy infrastructure. This remains a rare multi-domain intervention that is scalable and low-cost. Compared with expensive interventions, Walk with a Doc works well with volunteers, community partners, parks, fellow nonprofits, faith-based groups and many other entities.”
Goals of a Walk with a Doc Session
The main goals of a Walk with a Doc session include:
Local and Global Impact
Scheduled group walks create ongoing opportunities for being active, rather than one-time events. Participants often report making friends, feeling less isolated, and staying a part of the program because of the community. Clinicians are seen as approachable and preventive, and this can help strengthen clinician community ties. Walk with a Doc can also strengthen local partnerships and community engagement by partnering with health care systems, parks, libraries, employers, and universities, thereby amplifying their reach. This model has also been replicated globally and is adaptable culturally and geographically, so it can be implemented in diverse settings with minimal cost.
Typical outcomes from participant or leader evaluations have shown that Walk with a Doc sessions increase weekly walking minutes among regular attendees, and participants report increased health knowledge from the talks during the walk as well as self-reported behavior changes such as improved medication adherence or smoking cessation attempts. Walk leaders also report deriving significant benefits from heading up their chapters.
Clinician Recommendations and Involvement
So how can clinicians get their patients involved with Walk with a Doc? Appropriate patient candidates may include adults and older adults who are sedentary or underactive and have medical clearance for low-moderate activity, people with cardiometabolic risk who need sustainable activity, people who are lonely or socially isolated, and patients who need low-barrier access to clinicians for questions. Walk with a Doc is open to everyone, and many clinicians also encourage patients of all ages and backgrounds—including families, caregivers, and individuals simply looking for community, accountability, or a welcoming place to start—to join regardless of fitness level.
Dr. Sabgir said, “‘Short scripts’ for busy clinicians speaking with their patients can be: “If you would like an easy, no-cost way to get more activity and meet neighbors, try our Walk with a Doc session on Saturdays at 9 AM. We walk for about 30 to 45 minutes, and doctors and/or other healthcare practitioners will be there to answer questions—many patients find it helpful. Would you like the flyer/registration link?” For older adults/lonely patients, clinicians might say, “There’s a weekly walking group with clinicians and neighbors. People say it helped them feel less isolated. It might be a good, gentle way to get moving and make friends.” For those with chronic disease: “Walking is one of the simplest things to help your blood pressure and mood. There’s a community walk that’s friendly for people with heart conditions. I think you will really like it.” He added, “Clinicians can recommend this during preventive visits, chronic disease follow-up, after hospital discharge (as appropriate), when screening shows physical inactivity or loneliness, and when a patient expresses interest in lifestyle changes.”
For clinicians who are interested in being a leader, they can simply email Walk with a Doc at
Plans for the Future
Plans for the future include keeping in-person walks as the core program and increasing the reach. Dr. Sabgir said, “The program is working, and we need many more chapters. Ideally, we want to add virtual/hybrid options (livestreamed talks, recorded mini-lessons, online community) for those homebound or distant.”
Dr. Sabgir also talked about adding:
Tiered programming such as short “beginner” walks, a specific health-topic series (e.g., heart health month), and specialty tracks (diabetes-focused, cancer-survivor walks, and falls-prevention for older adults). Data-enabled chapters that encourage optional wearable integration and standardized short surveys to track outcomes across chapters, which might include number of chapters launched, average weekly attendance, repeat attendance rate, clinician participation rate, number of community partnerships, basic health metrics collected (BP/steps), and measures of social connectedness. Clinician microvolunteering or microcommitments (attending one walk/month) so more clinicians can participate without heavy time burdens. Targeting underserved populations, which typically have lower physical activity and higher rates of chronic disease. Increased corporate wellness involvement, demonstrating the return on investment through key metrics. Read with a Doc—Dr. Sabgir said, “We have successfully piloted a book club led by physicians, and we will be teaming up with libraries to make this happen.”
Conclusion
It is well established that the health benefits of walking are numerous, including the improvement in a person’s physical, emotional, and community involvement status and, recently, the association of regular walking with increased longevity. Walk with a Doc is a unique and successful program that is translatable in a wide variety of communities and cultures. The website provides a lot of information about the program, a free walking guide, 100 reasons to walk, chapter locations, and much more. Patients should be made aware of the program, and clinicians can reach out for involvement with the program, if interested, as a way to connect with their community and better their own lives as well as those of their patients’.▪