# Evidence-based intervention to improve walking engagement in El Paso, Texas

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS EL PASO · 2024 · $975,360

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Mexican Americans who live in the U.S.-Mexico border region suffer disproportionately from
preventable cardiometabolic diseases. Regular brisk walking is an effective measure in
regulating metabolic processes and preventing disease. Employer-based wellness programs
are promising strategies to address this public health problem because they take advantage of
workplace environments to improve opportunities for MVPA engagement while also addressing
barriers associated with inactivity. Employer-based MVPA programs have not been widely
tested on the U.S.-Mexico border. We plan to conduct a clustered Sequential Multiple
Assignment Randomized Trial (SMART) to determine the effectiveness of an employer-based
walking challenge intervention- 50,000 for Life (50K4Life)- in improving brisk walking
engagement (at least 7,000 steps/day) among school district employees. The proposed
intervention strategies are based on the walking interventions conducted by PI Salinas in El
Paso and behavioral, environmental and worksite interventions by the Co-Investigators. The trial
will include 30 randomly selected public schools with predominantly Mexican American
employees from El Paso County area school districts. The intervention strategies in 50K4Life
will be in two phases: 1) 50K4Life vs. 50K4Life + SMS text messaging and 2) Individual vs.
School level adaptation for campuses with a low response to the initial intervention phase. We
hypothesize that walking challenges with multilevel capacity building and adaptations based on
intervention response will lead to improved adherence to PA guidelines. This proposed socio-
ecological model-based study leverages resources through Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI)
from Texas and expertise in employer-based workplace interventions from the University of
Georgia (UGA) based on the partner's accumulative work to address the disparity in PA and
advance health equity in the Mexican American population. As part of our intervention
evaluation, we will conduct a process evaluation and cost-effectiveness to provide insight into
cost and scalability. This study will provide needed information on optimizing the implementation
of evidence-based behavioral interventions to improve walking engagement among Mexican
Americans living in the U.S.-Mexico border region.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10929295
- **Project number:** 5U01MD019289-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS EL PASO
- **Principal Investigator:** Jennifer J. Salinas
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $975,360
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-15 → 2028-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10929295

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10929295, Evidence-based intervention to improve walking engagement in El Paso, Texas (5U01MD019289-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10929295. Licensed CC0.

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