Students on stairs: a participatory approach using decisional cues in the form of motivational signs to promote stair use

Abstract

Objective: The authors assessed whether an intervention using motivational signs designed in a participatory manner to promote stair use resulted in changes to the proportion of stair to elevator use. Participants: Students of a German university were observed in three different academic buildings. Methods: The study design consisted of direct observations during a pre-intervention period, an intervention phase introducing motivational signs promoting stair use at points of decision and a post-intervention period. Results: The proportion of students who took the stairs on average differed significantly between baseline and intervention phase I (χ 2(1) = 12.2; p = .001; Phi = 0.078), baseline and intervention phase II (χ 2(1) = 17.3; p = .001; Phi = 0.093), and baseline and post-intervention (χ 2(1) = 9.9; p = .002; Phi = 0.074). Conclusions: Simple and cost-effective interventions can increase stair use of university students.