The Effectiveness of an Annual Nationally Delivered Workplace Step Count Challenge on Changing Step Counts: Findings from Four Years of Delivery

Incentivised physical activity intervention promoting daily steps among university employees in the workplace through a team-based competition

Introduction

The benefits of walking on health and well-being is well established and regarded as the most accessible form of physical activity (PA) that most individuals can incorporate into their lives. Despite the benefits, the impact of a competitive walking intervention combined with a prize incentive in the workplace is yet to be established. The aim of this intervention was to promote PA among university employees through teams-based competition with a prize incentive targeted towards the recommended 10,000 steps per day.

Methods

A total of 49 employees participated and formed eight departmental teams ranging from Senior Admin management, Educational & Social work, Nursing & Midwifery, Sport & Exercise, Health Sciences, Admin Assistant, Library, and IT to compete in a walking intervention. Each team was handed an ActiGraph wGT3X-BT from Monday to Friday to record their walking steps. Steps. Post intervention participants completed an open-ended survey to provide their views about the intervention.

Results

The ActiGraph findings determined that steps increased by 4,799 per day from daily baseline of 5,959 to 10,758 throughout this intervention. The themes from qualitative data showed that the prize incentive and competitive nature of this intervention has motivated staff to walk more, changed their behaviour, enjoyed the team-based competition, and improved perceived productivity in the workplace.

Discussion and conclusion

This intervention increased employees' daily steps by 4,799 and met the 10,000 steps guideline. The 'Health Sciences' team recorded the highest steps 531,342 followed by the 'Education and Social Work' accumulating 498,045 steps throughout this intervention. This intervention with prize incentive demonstrated a positive impact on employees personal and work-based outcomes as well as contributed to the workplace PA, health, and wellbeing literature, and more specifically, to the scarce research focused on university settings.

Physical activity virtual intervention for improving mental health among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A Co-creation process and evaluation using the Behavior Change Wheel

Background

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were reductions in university students' physical activity, which further increased their mental distress, calling for technology-based physical activity interventions to address the challenges in delivering in-person interventions. This study aimed to develop a technology-based physical activity intervention and pilot test it.

Methods

We developed a virtually-delivered team-based physical activity challenge using the Behavior Change Wheel and Co-creation Framework based on Self-determination Theory. A pilot study was conducted in the evaluation phase to measure the recruitment rate, dropout rate, change in physical activity, and mental distress while identifying problems and collecting participants' opinions regarding the challenge. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were conducted to assess the change in physical activity and mental distress. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results

A three-week physical activity challenge comprising five identified intervention functions was held with 480 participants. The recruitment rate was 84.8% resulting from 407 virtual challenge participants who were conveniently joined as research participants. The dropout rate for the pilot study was 10.96% resulting from the incompatibility problems with the application. Among sample participants who lacked physical activity, participation in this challenge improved their physical activity by 52.5 min of moderate-intensity physical activity per week and reduced their mental distress by three points of self-reporting questionnaire-20 score. Issues regarding the virtual application and the influence of participation in the challenge on basic psychological needs emerged. Participants' opinions identified lack of time as the main barrier to physical activity.

Conclusion

A co-created physical activity intervention developed using the Behavioral Change Wheel Framework inspired high interest from university students and may increase their physical activity and improve their mental health. Several suggestions were discussed to address the identified problems and improve the internal and external validity of the evaluation phase.

Trial registration

TCTR20220720004 (retrospectively registered on July 19, 2022).

Building partnerships: A case study of physical activity researchers and practitioners collaborating to build evidence to inform the delivery of a workplace step count challenge

Background

Walking is an integral part of Scotland's National Physical Activity Strategy, and the charity Paths for All's Workplace Step Count Challenge is a flagship programme within this strategy to promote physical activity. Effectively promoting physical activity requires collaborative engagement between stakeholders. However, there is limited guidance on how to do this. The aim of this case study is to share an example of a partnership between Paths for All and researchers to inform the development and delivery of the Workplace Step Count Challenge.

Method

An overview of the partnership, example activities, reflections on opportunities and challenges, and suggestions for future partnership working are considered.

Results

The partnership has evolved and strengthened over time through building trust. Many of the research activities provide an evidence base for the intervention. This work is mutually beneficial providing support for the work of the organisation, and opportunities for researchers to undertake "real world" research, leading to formal outputs and funding. The "real world" nature is challenging to integrate the most robust research designs. Recommendations for developing future partnerships were identified.

Conclusion

Promoting physical activity effectively requires partnership working, and this paper provides insight into how such partnerships can work to inform future collaborations.

2022 Prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases in Of the Russian Federation. National guidelines

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Measuring Productivity, Perceived Stress and Work Engagement of a Nationally Delivered Workplace Step Count Challenge

Workplace step count challenges show promise with regard to increasing physical activity, with walking linked to many positive physical and mental health benefits. Few studies have investigated their effects on work-related outcomes. The aim of this study was to describe (1) the process of collecting work-related outcomes as part of a real-world workplace intervention, the Step Count Challenge, and (2) report step counts and work-related outcomes (productivity, perceived stress and work engagement) during the Step Count Challenge. This pre-post study was conducted as part of a four-week 2018 National Step Count Challenge (SCC) in Scotland, UK. A survey was administered to collect self-reported steps, productivity (HWQ), perceived stress (Cohen Perceived Stress Scale) and work engagement (UWES) on the week prior to the intervention starting (baseline), week 1 and week 4. Process data such as recruitment and response rates were monitored throughout. Of 2042 employees who signed up to the SCC, baseline data were reported for 246 (12% of total; mean age 42.5 years, 83% female). Process data suggest low uptake to the study and poor compliance between surveys time points. Preliminary data suggest positive changes in step counts (3374 steps/day by week 4), stress and productivity. No changes in work engagement were found. The findings highlight the need to integrate research more effectively into real-world interventions, including a true baseline period. The Step Count Challenge may have positive change on some work-related outcomes warranting further investigation into how robust research designs can be delivered without negatively influencing real-world interventions.

Walking Engagement in Mexican Americans Who Participated in a Community-Wide Step Challenge in El Paso, TX

In the United States, the Latinx population has the highest prevalence of physical inactivity compared with other ethnicities. Research shows that work-based physical activity interventions have been widely implemented in the non-Latinx population and effectively increase physical activity in the non-Latinx population. In an effort to improve physical activity and reduce obesity among the Latinx population, we conducted 10,000 Steps for 100 Days, an employer-based walking challenge campaign, to increase walking engagement among Latinx employees located in El Paso, Texas. Participants reported their number of steps using a pedometer or smartphone. Step counts were collected at baseline, 2 weeks post challenge, and 6 months post challenge. Screenshots of the tracking device were uploaded to an online tracker. Regression analysis was conducted to identify covariates associated with baseline and 2-week and 6-month average daily steps. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were performed to predict steps over time by demographic characteristics. Participation in the 10,000 Steps for 100 Days walking challenge was associated with a sustained increase in average daily steps. Participants with less than 7000 steps per day demonstrated the greatest increase in average daily steps (921 steps at 2 weeks; 1002.4 steps at 6 months). Demographic characteristics were not significant predictors of average steps, except that married participants had higher average steps. Participants with 10,000 or more daily steps had a 51% (p = 0.031) higher chance of having a professional occupation than a non-professional one compared to those with 7000 or fewer daily steps. We provided initial evidence that the walking challenge is an effective approach for improving physical activity in the Latinx population.