Active8! Technology-Based Intervention to Promote Physical Activity in Hospital Employees

Abstract

A note on versions:The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of record. If you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher's version. Please see the repository url above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription.For more information, please contact eprints@nottingham.ac.uk Analysis: General linear models for repeated measures.Results: Increase in duration (mean hours/day) of moderate work-related activity and moderate recreational activity from baseline to 16 weeks. Short-lived increase in frequency (days/week) of vigorous recreational activity from baseline to 6 weeks. Increase in duration and frequency of active travel from baseline to 16 weeks. Emails generated greater changes than SMS in active travel and moderate activity (work and recreational). Conclusion:Minimal physical activity promotion delivered by SMS or email can increase frequency and duration of active travel, and duration of moderate-intensity physical activity at work and for leisure, which is maintained up to one-month after messaging ends. Both channels were useful platforms for health communication; emails were particularly beneficial with hospital employees. INTRODUCTIONPromoting active lifestyles is a fundamental aspect of global public health policy. National figures estimate that 80% of the UK population is insufficiently active 1 and therefore physical activity promotion efforts have focused on reaching large numbers through a 'settings' approach to health promotion. The workplace is an important site for primary prevention through public health initiatives. [2][3][4] In the UK, workplace health promotion is being advocated within the National Health Service (NHS), where it has been argued that healthcare professionals might 'set the example' for healthy behaviours as they are important role models for the general public. 18 Research adopting SMS and email physical activity promotion is limited in the healthcare workplace setting. Although previous research indicates that email and SMS are both plausible channels for health promotion communication, 13,19,20 it is not known if one channel is more effective than the other in prompting behaviour change. Further, efforts to increase physical activity may have benefits for health-related quality of life, which has been shown to be negatively affected by poor health-behaviours 21 .It is well-accepted that interventions most likely to influence physical activity behaviour are those which are based on behavioural change theory, with health communications which are targeted to groups, and tailored to individuals to increase the relevance, credibility and receptivity of the message. With regards to the channel for delivery, media richness theory 22 and social presence theory 23 suggest that behaviour is more likely to improve when a 'richer' media is used, and that selecting an inappropriate channel for delivery of information will result in less effective communication (therefo...

Motive8! Feasibility of a Text Messaging Intervention to Promote Physical Activity in Knee Osteoarthritis

“…There were no demographic or health differences between those who responded at six weeks and nonresponders, although there was minimal loss to follow-up (2/27). This is important since loss to follow-up is not only common in research but it is a particular challenge in non-contact technology-based intervention studies [36,16].…”

“…SMS interventions that are informed by behaviour change theory have shown increases in lifestyle physical activity in healthy adults of diverse age [16,17]. Previous studies have shown that interventions using mobile phones are acceptable to healthy mid-life and older adults but, there is limited evidence of their acceptability in mid-life and older adults with chronic illness [18,19].…”

Barriers and facilitators to implementing workplace health and wellbeing services in the NHS from the perspective of senior leaders and wellbeing practitioners: a qualitative study

“…Data from controlled and uncontrolled studies has revealed workplace HWB services can maintain good health status among employees over the long-term [ 25 ] and deliver significant changes in alcohol consumption, nutrition, sleep, stress, body mass index, depression and perceptions of general health [ 26 – 28 ], including some long-term improvements in body mass, waist circumference, blood pressure and lipid profiles compared to controls [ 29 ]. Several studies have also reported positive outcomes of workplace HWB services delivered in the NHS, including long-term changes to physical activity (in and out of work), significantly lower sickness absence, greater job satisfaction and greater organisational commitment [ 30 – 34 ]. Whilst this body of research has demonstrated the potential value of workplace HWB services to the NHS the implementation of these programmes remains a challenge, with few examples nationally.…”

Effects of a multicomponent workplace intervention programme with environmental changes on physical activity among Japanese white collar employees: a protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial

“…Although the GPAQ were developed as a tool for population surveillance across the world at first, it has also been used for assessment of the outcomes of intervention studies. 53 54 In this study, we adopted the GPAQ because of its easiness and low cost to answer, while its criterion validity with pedometers and accelerometers was poor–fair. 50 There will be certain limitation for overestimation of physical activity when compared with pedometers and accelerometers.…”