Nudging physical activity in offices

Nudging Interventions on Stair Use: A Scoping Review

Stair use is a physical activity that can be incorporated into the daily lifestyle of a majority of the population, resulting in several health benefits. Nudges are increasingly used in public health interventions to encourage healthy behaviours such as physical activity in a cost-effective manner. This scoping review aimed to investigate the effect and the characteristics of nudges used on interventions to promote stair use. We reviewed the relevant literature published in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Mendeley and Google Scholar, from January 2009 to May 2022. Eligibility criteria included original studies of any type of design, written in English, targeting healthy adults, reporting nudging interventions, using elevator or escalator as comparators and defining a baseline for comparisons. Initially, 118 publications were identified, and after applying exclusion criteria, 27 articles were included in the analysis. Results showed that most of the nudging interventions had significant positive effect on stair use in several settings. The evidence from this review suggests that incorporating nudges into public health interventions can effectively promote physical activity through increased stair usage. Emphasizing prevention measures in public health interventions may contribute to better health outcomes.

Improving Knowledge, Engagement, and Self-Efficacy in the Creation of Healthy Home Environments for Mothers Using a Facebook Intervention (Design for Wellness): Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

Designing the home environment can promote well-being. Social networks provide learning opportunities to improve health.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to develop and evaluate a Facebook intervention called Design for Wellness (DWELL). The program was created to improve knowledge, engagement, and self-efficacy in the creation of healthy home environments.

METHODS

A randomized controlled trial was conducted to assess the effects of the intervention program DWELL. Content was uploaded to the Facebook group and gave the participants practical solutions for how to design their home environment for wellness. The intervention addressed multiple components of health behaviors, such as healthy eating, physical activity, tobacco-free environment, hygiene, family conversations regarding wellness issues, and stress reduction. The main outcome was the participants' overall score on the DWELL index, which we developed to assess the elements of our intervention: knowledge, awareness, engagement, and self-efficacy regarding home design for wellness. The intervention was conducted in Israel and lasted 6 weeks during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary analysis included a multivariable model to assess the DWELL score at the end of the study while controlling for baseline characteristics. The waitlist control group did not receive an intervention between the 2 administrations of the questionnaire.

RESULTS

In total, 643 participants began the program: 322 (50.1%) in the intervention group and 321 (49.9%) in the control group. Of the 643 participants, 476 (74%) completed the study. At the end of the study, there was a statistically significant benefit of the intervention as assessed using a one-way analysis of covariance: there was a mean difference of 8.631 (SD 1.408) points in the DWELL score in favor of the intervention group (intervention: mean 61.92, SD 14.30; control: mean 53.29, SD 16.374; P<.001). Qualitative feedback from participants in the intervention group strengthened the positive results as most of them found the group beneficial. The Facebook group was very active. Being more engaged in the group correlated with having a higher DWELL score, but this relationship was weak (r=0.37; P<.001). The mean significant difference of 26.281 (SD 19.24) points between the overall DWELL score and the overall engagement score indicated that participants who were not active in the group still followed the posts and benefited. We found no improvements in the secondary outcome regarding participants' well-being. The COVID-19 lockdown may have prevented this.

CONCLUSIONS

DWELL was found to be a beneficial intervention for improving perceptions of the design of home environments to foster wellness. Facebook was an effective platform to deliver this intervention. DWELL may become a prototype for other health promotion interventions.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03736525; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03736525?term=DWELL&rank=1.

Development and validation of a new questionnaire to assess perceptions regarding DWELL: Design for WELLness

Designing home environments for health and wellness is a crucial strategy for disease prevention and health promotion. Yet, there is not a tool to evaluate perceptions regarding home design for health and wellness. This study aimed to develop and validate a new instrument to measure people's perceptions regarding the concept of DWELL: Design for WELLness in the home environment. We developed a short 5-item online questionnaire to detect changes in knowledge, awareness, engagement and self-efficacy regarding DWELL. The instrument was validated in an online study. Of the 613 mothers who answered the questionnaire initially, 397 answered the questionnaire a second time. Factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha indicated that all five DWELL questions load into one single factor (the model explained 61.84% of total variance), and measure a reliable scale of the same construct, with high levels of internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.85) at both first and second administrations. Spearman correlations between DWELL first and second administrations of the questionnaire indicated moderate-to-high test-retest reliability (0.55-0.70, p < 0.001). DWELL was found to be a valid tool which fills a gap in the public health literature. This measure serves as a free and convenient online instrument to gain insights regarding the effect of modifying environments for disease prevention and health promotion. The tool may be used to assess perceptions in the conditions leading wellness promotion in the home.

Physical activity in the workplace: a cost or a benefit for organizations? A systematic review

Purpose

Most adults do not follow the minimum requirements for physical activity despite the benefits such activity can provide toward improving quality of life. On average, an adult spends 60% of daily hours in the workplace, making it essential to create working environments that are favorable to avoiding harmful effects on the health of workers. Toward this end, the application of physical activity programs in a work context is one of the possible interventions. This study aims to carry out a systematic review of the literature to identify the impact of physical activity programs applied in the workplace, on employee wellness and organizational productivity.

Design/methodology/approach

The search for reports was carried out in two databases, namely, Thomson Reuters Web of Science and Scopus, according to several inclusion and exclusion criteria. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) was applied to ensure the quality of the study. Microsoft Excel 2016 was used to organize the database to support the data analysis.

Findings

The sample comprised 64 reports published in international journals between 1986 and 2019. From these studies, six thematic clusters were formed: Workplace Physical Activity Interventions, Workplace Wellness, Physical Activity and Organizational Performance, Barriers to Developing Physical Activity Programs in the Workplace, Physical Activity and Sedentary Occupations and Workplace Physical Activity Incentives. The analysis of these clusters confirmed that the implementation of physical activity programs in this context could represent beneficial effects for workers and the organizational system by contributing to a reduction in the rates of absenteeism and presenteeism. However, there are still many organizations that do not implement such programs.

Originality/value

The results of this study are essential for managers of organizations to be able to implement physical activity programs in a work context, similarly to the application of a strategy of corporate social responsibility in an intra-organizational environment. This research may also be useful for professionals in the areas of sports and physical exercise, who want to build their business around physical exercise programs applied to a work context.