Heartland Moves

Project Dates: 2017 – 2022

Heartland Moves is designed to increase physical activity among rural residents to decrease the burden of cancer. The project aims to use input and currently available assets from rural communities to accomplish project goals.

Project Goals:

  • Assess physical activity behaviors before and after a multilevel intervention.
  • Identify novel approaches for increasing physical activity among rural communities.
  • Assess the value of social networks on physical activity behaviors.

Implications for Research and Practice:

Rural communities are often overlooked in research due to inherent logistic concerns and small samples; however, rural residents make up roughly 15% of the US population. The project looks to use the resources readily available (e.g., walking trails, cellular phones) to increase physical activity. The results will provide researcher and practitioners alike, the ability to use real world approaches to increase physical activity among rural populations.

Project Contact:

Alan M. Beck, PhD

Project Staff:

Principal Investigator: Ross Brownson, PhD
Project Manager: Alan M. Beck, PhD
Local Project Manager: Dixie Duncan
Masters Research Fellow: Amanda Gilbert 
Research Assistant: Emily Davis

Project Website:

https://www.heartlandmoves.org

Project Partners:

Amy Eyler, PhD;

J. Aaron Hipp, PhD; Abby King, PhD; Rodrigo Reis, PhDRachel Tabak, PhD; Yan Yan, MD, PhD

Funding Source:

National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute

Infographics and Briefs

Heartland Moves Community Interviews (pdf)