University of Manitoba - Centre On Aging - Phase Three - WISER Study
Phase Three - WISER Study
Recruitment and administration

Individuals were eligible to participate in WISER Phase Three if they met specific criteria. The WISER Phase Three sample consisted of individuals who

  • Had participated in an earlier phase of the WISER Program (Phase One or Two);
  • Were 45 years or older as of 2006;
  • Resided in Winnipeg or the surrounding areas of East St. Paul and West St. Paul; and
  • Had their contact information (i.e., address and phone number) verified at the time of tracking.

There was a potential pool of 1500 individuals who had been interviewed during Phase Two of the WISER Study. Of these, 1165 were eligible for follow-up contact in Phase Three including Wellness Institute Members, Community Comparison Survey Members, and Wellness Institute Former Members. Interviews were completed with 712 individuals from Phase Two.

An additional sample of individuals from Phase One of WISER was also contacted in order to have a sample size of 1000 for Phase Three. Follow-up contact of eligible participants was conducted. It was not necessary to contact all potential respondents to achieve the desired sample size. Interviews were completed with 306 participants from the Phase One group.

Prior to data analysis, three interviews were removed from the data file as they were found to be ineligible, resulting in a final sample size of 1015 individuals for Phase Three. A response rate of 82.6% was obtained for this survey.

In-person interviews were completed between August 2007 and January 2008. The interview took approximately one hour to administer. Both structured and open-ended questions were included. Some of these questions were based on established scales, while others were created for this project.

Interview schedule content

The interview schedule for WISER Phase Three was based on a modified version of the questionnaire used in Phase Two. The interview sections for this phase were reorganized, and various questions from the earlier phases were repeated, deleted, or modified. In addition, the Phase Three questionnaire included a section on neighbourhood characteristics that was not part of the earlier phases. A single version of the questionnaire was created and used for all participants in Phase Three.

Topics covered in the interview included

  • Leisure Participation: Informal and formal leisure activities, fitness facility membership, leisure satisfaction
  • Health Status: Ratings of health, activity limitations, falls, chronic conditions, emotional health, health care utilization, health services in Winnipeg, communication and information
  • Health Benefits: Health consciousness, health competence, self-esteem, locus of control, quality of life, happiness, loneliness
  • Health Behaviour: Actions to maintain physical and emotional health, intentions regarding changes to health, practices involving diet and smoking, self-rated physical activity, beliefs about physical activity
  • Neighbourhood Characteristics: Neighbourhood features, respect and social inclusion, outdoor spaces and buildings, neighbourhood safety, transportation, housing, future housing needs
  • Employment and Civic Engagement: Employment status, volunteer work, unpaid help given to family/friends, volunteer and job opportunities for seniors
  • Demographics: Marital status, household composition, age, height, weight, education, income.
Physical Activity Component

Phase Three of the WISER study asked participants to wear a pedometer for a three-day period. Respondents recorded the number of steps taken each day and completed a short three-question survey. This self-report measure was designed to assess: i) the number of steps taken during each of the past three days; ii) how the days when the pedometer was worn compared to a typical day; iii) how physically active respondents rated themselves to be during the days the pedometer was worn (1=extremely inactive, 4=moderately active, 7=extremely active); and, iv) how physically active respondents rated themselves compared to a typical day (1=extremely inactive, 4=moderately active, 7=extremely active).

Copies of this interview schedule may be obtained by contacting the WISER office.

Selected Findings

Sample characteristics:

  • The Phase Three sample was comprised of 46.3% males and 53.7% females.
  • The age of respondents ranged from 45 to 95 years, with an average age of 63 years. Almost one-third of the sample (32.9%) was between 60 and 69 years old.
  • 73.0% of the participants were married.
  • 61.2% of respondents had education beyond high school, and nearly one-fifth (19.9%) stated they had received a bachelor's or undergraduate degree from university.
  • Slightly over one-half (52.4%) of participants reported currently working for pay, and 50% of the sample have a yearly household income of $60,000 or more.
Health and well-being:
  • 50.0% of respondents rated their health as excellent or very good. Only 16.2% reported that their health was fair or poor. In addition, 47.2% felt they were doing an excellent or very good job looking after their health.
  • 11.0% of participants reported no chronic health conditions. The number of chronic conditions reported ranged from 0 to 16, with a mean of 3. The most frequently reported chronic conditions were arthritis, high blood pressure, back problems, food/other allergies, and cataracts/glaucoma/retinal disease.
  • The three most commonly reported activities done to maintain physical health were: regular exercise, eat healthy, and housework/yard work.
  • The three most commonly reported activities done to maintain emotional health were: watch TV/listen to music/read, socialize/visit with friends, and socialize/visit with family.
  • The respondents rated the availability and quality of health care services in Winnipeg favourably. 60.8% described the availability of health services as excellent or good, and only 4.0% felt that the quality of health services in Winnipeg was poor.
Activity participation
  • Individuals participated in a variety of activities during their leisure time. On a daily basis, respondents were most likely to report watching TV, reading, and listening to the radio/music.
  • In addition, 31.4% of those 65+ years reported using a computer daily.
  • The most common informal activities done by participants on a weekly basis included visiting friends/relatives, having telephone conversations with friends/relatives, and engaging in physical activities.
  • 46.4% of respondents engaged in unpaid volunteer work during the past 12 months.
Neighbourhood characteristics:
  • The majority of participants (93.2%) have lived in their neighbourhoods for 5 years or more.
  • 92.0% of those interviewed reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their neighbourhood; and 77.1% would prefer to stay in their current neighbourhood into old age.
  • The top three neighbourhood features participants considered to be most important to have within walking distance from home were friends/relatives, a bus stop, and a food store.

More findings and results can be found in the WISER Phase Three - Summary of Results (PDF).