focus area icon

Physical Activity: Stairwell Use

Categories:

  • Physical activity,
  • Physical environment,
  • Community,
  • Facilities & organizations,
  • Schools,
  • Workplace,

Stairwell use

Research shows that stairwell use can increase levels of physical activity1-3,5.

Promoting stair use is a creative way to engage communities in physical activity. Creating maps of stair options around your city or town can encourage residents to get active.

Ways to start

  • Collaborate with relevant groups to create motivational signs to inspire people to use stairs.
  • Tailor motivational messages to all age groups and demographics.6-14
  • Post signs in multiple locations such as stairwells, by elevators, cafeteria, public bulletin boards.
  • Collaborate with employers, building facilities departments and/or municipalities to develop guidelines or policies to ensure stairwells are well maintained such as clean, garbage cans available, adequate lighting.
  • Add artwork or play music to increase stairwell use.4

For further action to increase physical activity in your community, see

Multi-component community-wide interventions that increase awareness about and provide opportunities for physical activity in your community will have greater impact than implementing one-off strategies.

Evaluation measures the impact of all the hard work that went into developing a community initiative. Evaluating impact examines:

  1. What you expect to learn or change
  2. What you measure and report
  3. How to measure impact

What you expect to learn about stairwell use may include:

  • Learning that the strategy is being implemented as planned
  • Improved appearance and appeal of the stairwell areas
  • Increased policies that include stairwell maintenance
  • Increase use of stairwells
Icon legend

External Resources

CDC Guide to Strategies to Increase Physical Activity in the Community

Strategies to increase physical activity in the community.

View Resource

Building Healthy Places Toolkit

Collaborating to build local strategies that help create walkable communities

View Resource

References –Stairwell Use

  1. Kahn EB, Ramsey LT, Bronson RC, et al. The effectiveness of interventions to increase physical activity. A systematic review. American journal of preventive medicine. 2002;22(4 Suppl): 73-107.
  2. Ker J, Eves F, Carroll D. Six-month observational study of prompted stair climbing. Preventive medicine. 2001;33(5):422-427.
  3. Kerr J, Eves FF, Carroll D. Getting more people on the stairs: the impact of a new message format. Journal of health psychology. 2001;6(5):495-500.
  4. Boutelle KN, Jeffery RW, Murray DM, Schmitz MK. Using signs, artwork, and music to promote stair use in a public building. American journal of public health. 2001;91(12):2004-2006.
  5. Anderson RE, Franckowiak SC, Snyder J, Bartlett SJ, Fontaine KR. Can inexpensive signs encourage the use of stairs? Results from a community intervention. Annals of internal medicine. 1998;129(5):363-369.
  6. Williams G, Hamm MP, Shulhan J, Vandermeer B, Hartling L. Social media interventions for diet and exercise behaviours: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. BMJ Open. 2014;4(2):e003926. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2013-003926. Available from:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24525388
  7. BC Ministry of Health. Evidence review: healthy living – physical activity and healthy eating. CORE public health functions for BC. Victoria (BC): BC Ministry of Health; 2006. Available from: https://www.health.gov.bc.ca/public-health/pdf/Healthy_Living_Physical_Activity_Healthy_Eating_Evidence_Review.pdf.
  8. All-Party Commission on Physical Activity. Tackling physical inactivity: a coordinated approach. London (UK): All-Party Commission on Physical Activity; 2014. Available from: https://parliamentarycommissiononphysicalactivity.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/apcopa-final.pdf.
  9. Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Recommendations to increase physical activity in communities. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2002;22(4S):67-72. Available from: https://www.thecommunityguide.org/sites/default/files/publications/pa-ajpm-recs.pdf.
  10. World Health Organization (WHO). Interventions on diet and physical activity: what works: summary report. Geneva (SW): World Health Organization; 2009. Available from: http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/summary-report-09.pdf.
  11. MacArthur Group Inc. Physical activity strategy for Prince Edward Island 2004-2009. Charlottetown (PE): MacArthur Group; 2004. Available from: http://www.gov.pe.ca/photos/original/doh_actstrat.pdf.
  12. Garcia J, Beyers J, Uetrecht C, et al. Healthy eating, physical activity and healthy weights guideline for public health in Ontario. Toronto (ON): Cancer Care Ontario, Program in Evidence-based Care; 2010. Available from: https://archive.cancercare.on.ca/common/pages/UserFile.aspx?fileId=64413.
  13. Committee on Physical Activity, Health, Transportation and Land Use. Does the built environment influence physical activity? Examining the evidence. Transportation Research Board Special Report 282. Washington (DC): The National Academies Press; 2005. Available from: https://www.nap.edu/catalog/11203/does-the-built-environment-influence-physical-activity-examining-the-evidence.
  14. Community Preventive Services Task Force, CDC. Campaigns and informational approaches to increase physical activity: Community-wide campaigns. The community guide. Washington (DC): CDC; 2014. Available from: https://www.thecommunityguide.org/findings/physical-activity-community-wide-campaigns