Maintenance of the Rate of Stair Use over a Long‐term Period Using a Stair Climbing Campaign

Abstract

Maintenance of the Rate of Stair Use over a Long‐term Period Using a Stair Climbing Campaign: Takuo NOMURA, et al. Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Kansai University of Welfare Sciences— Objective This study was a long‐term survey of a stair climbing campaign that made use of point‐of‐choice prompts aimed at achieving exemplary behavior in citizens. Methods The campaign began in September 2007 at the Kochi Prefectural Office. We monitored office workers who climbed the stairs or used the elevator in the prefectural office building, excluding weekends, from August 2007 through February 2009. Prompts were placed on the stair risers. A total of 59 days were monitored during the observation period. A questionnaire was distributed to 250 workers to examine the influence of the prompts following completion of the observation period. Results A total of 16,583 observations of the choice of workers to use the elevators or stairs were made during the observation period. The mean number of stair users was 281.0 ± 66.0 per day. Stair use increased significantly from 31.5 to 58.1% among women and from 26.3 to 62.4% among men during months 1−3 of the campaign. Stair use was maintained in more than 51% of women and 60% of men during the entire campaign period. The following response (valid records: 81) was given by 10% of the respondents regarding the use of stairs: “my use of stairs increased due to the message banners”. Conclusions The stair climbing campaign was effective for increasing stair use and was maintained over a longterm period. However, most office workers thought that their increased stair use was not due to prompts placed on risers; therefore, the reason for the increased stair use remains unclear.

Promoting Stair Climbing as an Exercise Routine among Healthy Older Adults Attending a Community-Based Physical Activity Program

“…More than 50% of older adults in Japan are not engaged in any PA [9]. Japanese health professionals are adopting the Ministry of Health Promotion Movement in the 21st Century (“Health Japan 21”) project, which promotes PA for the citizens of all ages in Japan, particularly targeting increasing the number of steps [10,11] and improving the ability to perform daily living activities [12].…”

“…Numerous interventions have been conducted using various approaches, including motivational posters, signs [24,25], videos [26], environmental changes [27] and PA programming [28]. Many interventions promoted stair use settings at worksites [11,29], shopping malls and train stations [30]. A recent systematic review demonstrated the effectiveness of stair use and stair climbing interventions in various public settings [31].…”

How do different interventions impact stair climbing? A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The studies’ characteristics included in the systematic review are available in Supplemental Appendix 2. A total of 17 studies were conducted in Europe (21–37), three in Asia (38–40), 11 in North America (41–51), and three in Oceania (52–54). Interventions consisted of prompts (25,27,33,36,37,39,40,41,43,45–53,54), posters (21,27,40), banners (25,30), messages, and signs (24,25,28,30,38,44).…”

Self-Care Posters Serve as a Low-Cost Option for Physical Activity Promotion of Hospital Nurses

“…A meta-analysis conducted by Marshall (2004) revealed that the most successful physical activity interventions are those that promote incidental physical activity in and around the workplace. For example, multiple studies have shown that health-related motivational and educational posters, a low-cost option, succeed in increasing the use of stairs in lieu of the elevator or escalator in a variety of settings, including train stations, office buildings, factories, health care clinics, and hospitals (Kwak, Kremers, van Baak, & Brug, 2007; LaCaille et al, 2016; Marshall, Bauman, Patch, Wilson, & Chen, 2002; Nomura, Katayama, Kashiwa, Akezaki, & Sato, 2014). In addition, it has been shown that self-monitoring techniques, which can be achieved with low-cost pedometers and/or cell phone apps, are effective in increasing employee step counts (LaCaille et al, 2016; Michie, Abraham, Whittington, McAteer, & Gupta, 2009).…”

“…Additionally, the authors are not aware of any study that has objectively measured the impact of a poster campaign on daily physical activity levels. Previous studies have primarily relied on self-report or have limited their measurements to the change in stair use (Eves, Webb, Griffin, & Chambers, 2012; Kwak et al, 2007; LaCaille et al, 2016; Marshall et al, 2002; Nomura et al, 2014). Therefore, the aim of the current study was to complete a pilot investigation on the effects of self-monitoring and a worksite physical activity promotion poster campaign targeting hospital nurses.…”