Using Pedometers to Increase the Non-Workday Steps of Hospital Nursing and Support Staff: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Nursing is a physically active profession; however, nurses and nursing support staff may limit their physical activity (PA) on non-workdays. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the effects of a 12-week pedometer-based PA intervention on daily steps of hospital nursing and support staff from two departments, emergency (ED) and oncology (ONC). The 12-week minimal-contact, self-managed intervention was designed to increase total and non-workday PA. Twenty participants with an average age of 47.6 ± 7.1 years completed the intervention. Significant differences were found between total daily steps at baseline (8,446) and at 12 weeks (10,655; p = .014), and between workday steps at baseline (10,398) and at 12 weeks (13,056; p = 0.005). Oncology unit participants significantly increased their non-workday steps from baseline (5,850) to 12 weeks (9,829; p = .003). As part of a comprehensive intervention, pedometers can promote total and non-workday PA of nursing and support staff.

Effectiveness of Lifestyle Health Promotion Interventions for Nurses: A Systematic Review

“…Thirty-five studies included some form of PA [60,69,75,76,78,83,88,96,98,. The PA interventions included walking [83,88,96,113,115,119,123,127,131,133,136], standing [119], aerobics [60,75], aerobics and resistance exercise [118], yoga [116,122,125,126,132,135], Tai-Chi [130], endurance training [117], muscle strength promotion [117,128], stretching [119,134,137], daily exercise [78,121], physiotherapy exercise [76], exercises with equipment (stair-stepper: [114], treadmill, Wii TM : [96,115], elastic bands and kettlebells [120,137,138], back muscle exercises [98,…”

“…[ii] Body Composition: The most often included measures were BMI [67,83,97,[112][113][114][115][116][117]123,128,131], fat mass [97,115,131], and waist circumference [113,116,123,128,131]. Only one study included the measure of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry [96].…”

“…A small number of studies used objective measures of PA (see below). The objective measures included activity trackers (pedometers [96,112,115,123,131], or accelerometers [113]); the UKK walking test [75], or aerobic capacity using the VO 2max test [117,118]. [v] Smoking Behaviour: The measures included abstinence [141], number of cigarettes smoked, number of nurses smoking, nicotine dependence, confidence to resist smoking [142], carbon monoxide (CO) level, and smoking cessation status [143].…”

“…Not all of the studies showed improvements in at least one aspect of body composition; four studies [64,83,113,123] reported no significant improvements in low back pain [64], BMI or waist size [83,113,123]. Of the four studies reporting no improvements in body composition, one was a non-randomised controlled study [64] and three were uncontrolled studies [83,113,123]. Unsuccessful interventions used PA (walking- [123]), education on body mechanics [64], or pedometer challenge with healthy lifestyle education [83,113].…”

A Smart Glucose Monitoring System for Diabetic Patient

“…The pedometer is used to monitor the physical activity of the diabetic patient. Physical activity is defined as any movement that increases the use of energy, such as walking or playing a football game [28]. Physical activity should be recommended to all diabetic patients as part of the management of their level of glucose and for improving their health.…”