An Integrative, Systematic Review Exploring the Research, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance of Interventions to Reduce Sedentary Behaviour in Office Workers

Abstract

Sedentary behaviour is associated with poor health outcomes, and office-based workers are at significant health risk, as they accumulate large proportions of their overall sitting time at work. The aim of this integrated systematic review was to collate and synthesize published research on sedentary behaviour interventions in the workplace that have reported on at least one an aspect of the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. Studies were included if they involved adult office workers, were conducted in an office setting, and changes in sedentary behaviour had been measured as a primary outcome. Five electronic databases were searched yielding 7234 articles, with 75 articles (61 individual interventions) meeting the inclusion criteria. Reach indicators were the most frequently reported RE-AIM dimensions, which were reported on average 59% of the time. Efficacy/effectiveness was the second most reported dimension at 49% reporting across all of the indicators. Implementation indicators were reported an average of 44% of the time, with indicators of adoption and maintenance reported as the lowest of all indicators at 13% and 8%, respectively. Recommendations are provided to improve reporting across all RE-AIM dimensions, which is an important first step to enable the effective translation of interventions into real world settings.

Should We Scale-Up? A Mixed Methods Process Evaluation of an Intervention Targeting Sedentary Office Workers Using the RE-AIM QuEST Framework

“…Within RE-AIM, dissemination of the time and cost of the intervention [10] is considered important however the "cost/benefit" of interventions targeting office workers is seldom reported [9,37]. With limited access to information which could inform cost, the research team estimated the time needed to implement the intervention activities which equaled 31 h to deliver the consultation based intervention to 87 employees.…”

“…Reducing the burden of disease is contingent on effective workplace interventions being implemented at scale; and, although interventions have been effective [7,8], a significant proportion have been conducted on a relatively small scale [9]. Furthermore, in these interventions, there is a clear emphasis on reporting indicators of efficacy, and a failure to measure and/or report on indicators that would inform the potential for scale-up and sustainability (e.g., participation rate and/or cost) [9][10][11]. Failure to measure and report on additional indicators relating to the reach, implementation and maintenance of the intervention may mean that barriers to scaling up go unnoticed, making the goal of population-level risk reduction unattainable [9,12].…”

“…Furthermore, in these interventions, there is a clear emphasis on reporting indicators of efficacy, and a failure to measure and/or report on indicators that would inform the potential for scale-up and sustainability (e.g., participation rate and/or cost) [9][10][11]. Failure to measure and report on additional indicators relating to the reach, implementation and maintenance of the intervention may mean that barriers to scaling up go unnoticed, making the goal of population-level risk reduction unattainable [9,12]. Collecting data and comprehensively evaluating interventions across additional indicators will help inform the researchers' understanding of the potential for translation and implementation at scale [9][10][11][12].…”

“…Failure to measure and report on additional indicators relating to the reach, implementation and maintenance of the intervention may mean that barriers to scaling up go unnoticed, making the goal of population-level risk reduction unattainable [9,12]. Collecting data and comprehensively evaluating interventions across additional indicators will help inform the researchers' understanding of the potential for translation and implementation at scale [9][10][11][12].…”

Physical activity and sedentary behaviour in occupational groups from Papua New Guinea: Self-reported patterns and correlates

“…33 Lastly, using the framework of reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation and maintenance, testing of 'sit less, move more' interventions for office based workers in developed countries is well underway. 129,130 A key recommendation emerging from this thesis is for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to apply and adapt this knowledge base and research process to PNG occupational groups.…”