In Brief

The Challenge

People know that walking is beneficial, however, in Ireland, most people use the car frequently and 50% do not meet the guidelines for physical activity. The first challenge for the Step Up project, born from the collaboration with a senior citizen group, Young at Heart, is supporting middle-aged and older people to walk more for functional and recreational purposes. The second challenge is to increase awareness of walking benefits, tailored to each person and where they walk, and to provide easy-to-access information to policy-makers on which environments better fit different walkers. 

The Solution

Self-persuasion is a powerful tool to support behavioural change; the Step Up project will co-design technology-enabled solutions with users, to increase awareness of the individual benefits of walking. We know that walking in a busy road or in a greenway takes a different toll on our mental resources, either depletes them or restores them. The Step Up will allow people to measure their activity levels, where they walk and link them with their mood, wellbeing and cognitive performance. It will foster sustainable behavioural change instigated by increased experiential awareness of the benefits of walking. 

Walking is good, but walking in different places impacts us differently. We will co-design technological solutions enabling people to track their walking and its benefits to support sustained behavioural change. 

The Team

  • Team Lead: Dr Annalisa Setti, University College Cork 
  • Team Co-Lead: Dr Rosane Minghim, University College Cork 

Societal Impact Champion

  • Alison Chambers, Cork Sports Partnership