Leading the way together: a cluster randomised controlled trial of the 5R Shared Leadership Program in older adult walking groups

Katrien Fransen, Tegan Cruwys, Catherine Haslam, Peter Iserbyt, Jan Seghers, Julie Vanderlinden, Jannique van Uffelen, Elvire Verbaanderd, Filip Boen, Katrien Fransen, Tegan Cruwys, Catherine Haslam, Peter Iserbyt, Jan Seghers, Julie Vanderlinden, Jannique van Uffelen, Elvire Verbaanderd, Filip Boen

Abstract

Background: With a rapidly ageing society, healthy ageing has become a key challenge. Engagement in physical activity, and particularly walking, is a key strategy that contributes to healthy ageing amongst older adults. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of a group walking program for older adults that incorporates the 5R Shared Leadership Program (5RS). By implementing a structure of shared leadership and strengthening peer leaders' identity leadership, 5RS aims to cultivate a shared social identity amongst participants, which has in other contexts been associated with greater performance and well-being.

Methods: A cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted to test the efficacy of the 5RS group walking program on group identification, group cohesion, walking activity, and well-being, compared to a regular group walking program for older adults. Nineteen older adult walking groups (i.e., the clusters; N = 503; Mage = 69.23 years, SD = 6.68) all participated in a 12-week structured group walking program. Nine walking groups (n = 304) were randomly assigned to the intervention in which participants received the 5RS program in addition to regular group walking.

Results: 5RS was successful in strengthening the identity leadership qualities of the appointed peer leaders. Multilevel regressions showed that 5RS succeeded in increasing group cohesion and walking activity to a greater extent than a regular group walking program, while participants' group identification and well-being increased to a similar extent in both conditions. Furthermore, structural equation modelling revealed that group identification mediated the impact of peer leaders' identity leadership on group cohesion and well-being (but not walking activity).

Conclusion: By harnessing the capacity of the group and its peer leaders, the 5RS program offers a promising intervention to engage older adults in physical activity.

Trial registration: The study was retrospectively registered as clinical trial on 9 September 2021 ( NCT05038423 ).

Keywords: 5RS; Elderly; Group identification; Identity leadership; Peer leadership; Physical activity; Social identification; Walking group; Well-being; cohesion.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

© 2022. The Author(s).

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The 5R Shared Leadership Program, as developed by Fransen et al. [43]
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Study design and timeline
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Results of the paired samples t-tests, comparing the identity leadership of the informal leaders at the pretest with the identity leadership of the task, motivational, and social leader at the posttest
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Pre- and postscores on the different outcomes for both the 5RS intervention and comparison group
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Structural equation model including the difference scores (Δ = posttest – pretest) of the identity leadership of the peer leaders, participants’ identification with their walking group, the group cohesion, participants’ well-being, and their walking activity. Standardised regression coefficients (with their standard errors) are depicted and the proportions of explained variance are presented in italics. ***p < .001

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