Predictors of retention of African American women in a walking program.

Objective: To predict retention of African American women 6 months after initiating a community walking program.

Methods: Demographics, health status, cancer-related health behaviors, and network membership data from baseline wellness questionnaires of 1322 African American women participating in the walking program were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression models.

Results: Seventy-eight percent (n = 1032) of African American women were retained at 6 months. Network membership was the primary predictor of retention.

Conclusions: Women affiliated with our comprehensive network, which provides ongoing cancer awareness, screening, and prevention programs to reduce cancer health disparities, were more likely to accomplish the first major milestone of the program.