Abstract
BackgroundThe workplace is an ideal setting for health promotion. Helping employees to be more physically active can not only improve their physical and mental health, but can also have economic benefits such as reduced sickness absence. The current paper describes the development of a three month theory-based intervention that aims to increase levels of moderate intensity physical activity amongst employees in sedentary occupations.MethodsThe intervention was developed using an intervention mapping protocol. The intervention was also informed by previous literature, qualitative focus groups, an expert steering group, and feedback from key contacts within a range of organisations.ResultsThe intervention was designed to target awareness (e.g. provision of information), motivation (e.g. goal setting, social support) and environment (e.g. management support) and to address behavioural (e.g. increasing moderate physical activity in work) and interpersonal outcomes (e.g. encourage colleagues to be more physically active). The intervention can be implemented by local facilitators without the requirement for a large investment of resources. A facilitator manual was developed which listed step by step instructions on how to implement each component along with a suggested timetable.ConclusionAlthough time consuming, intervention mapping was found to be a useful tool for developing a theory based intervention. The length of this process has implications for the way in which funding bodies allow for the development of interventions as part of their funding policy. The intervention will be evaluated in a cluster randomised trial involving 1350 employees from 5 different organisations, results available September 2009.
Highlights
The workplace is an ideal setting for health promotion
Coronary heart disease and cancers are the biggest killers in developed countries [1,2]
The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) states that the proximal determinant of behaviour is intention, which encapsulates the motivational force that spurs an individual to action [25,30]
Summary
The workplace is an ideal setting for health promotion. Helping employees to be more physically active can improve their physical and mental health, but can have economic benefits such as reduced sickness absence. BMC Public Health 2008, 8:326 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/8/326 to rise as do risk factors such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension [1]. The causes of this increased morbidity are predominantly unhealthy lifestyles: smoking, unhealthy diets and physical inactivity. Physical activity can have positive effects on mental health [11] Despite this evidence, the latest health survey for England [12] identified that only 37% of men and 25% of women engage in the recommended 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity, on five or more days of the week [13]. In the US and Canada around 48% of men and women engaged in the recommended levels of physical activity in 2005, which more promising still suggests that over half the population are either inactive or not doing enough activity to benefit their health. [14,15]
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