Stair Usage Research Articles

Applying a deterrence nudge strategy for promoting stair usage in a university setting

PurposeThis study aimed to examine whether indirectly deterring elevator use through time-targeted Point-of-Decision Prompts (PODPs) efficiently increased stair usage in a university setting.MethodsA quasi-experimental design (pre-post design) was employed over 2 weeks in September 2023. Baseline observations were conducted for 1 week prior to signage placement at two locations. The intervention in this study lasted for 1 week, immediately following baseline observations. Three hundred and thirty-one and 384 participants were observed during the baseline and intervention periods, respectively. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the increase in the act of ascending the stairs.ResultsOur intervention, which focused on time-related messages, effectively increased stair usage among university students (coefficient = 0.435, p-value < 0.01). Furthermore, females (coefficient = -0.820, p-value < 0.05) and individuals aged ≥ 30 years (coefficient = 1.048, p-value < 0.01) were notably more likely to be influenced by our intervention than males and individuals aged < 30 years.ConclusionIndirectly discouraging elevator use through time-targeted PODPs may amplify the effects of the previously employed time-related messages. Our findings suggested that a deterrence nudge should primarily be directed towards promoting stair usage among females or individuals aged ≥ 30 years.

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.

Saving energy at university campus via intervention to reduce elevator usage – a case study from Germany

Recently, the need for energy saving has become a challenge for German society. Rising prices of energy, and urgent need to mitigate and adapt to climate change, made it necessary to reflect and change behaviors on a population level. Simultaneously, the population faces increased sedentary lifestyle and health system promotes benefits of daily movement and sports. By using stairs, instead of taking the elevator, could be part of the solution for both problems. This applies for buildings, such as universities, which usually have hundreds of students and staff circulating daily. In this sense, this study aims to analyse how an intervention to increase stair usage, by involving motivational stickers and posters, could impact the behavior of students and staff. To achieve its goal, a field study and a questionnaire has been conducted at one German University. The results showed, after the intervention, that the elevator usage decreased by nearly 7%. According to the questionnaire nearly a fifth of all participants felt motivated by the stickers to choose the stairs over the elevator. While before the intervention male participants were 1.76 times more likely than females to take the stairs, the difference in stair usage after the intervention was not statistically significant anymore. Individual students and staff members were 1.44 times more likely to take the stairs than when grouped with others. This difference in stair usage individually or in a group increased from nearly 8% before the intervention to 17% after the intervention. Although short, the intervention showed to be successful and the results indicated that elevator interventions should be utilized in future contexts at a population level to spread the message that by reducing elevator usage, energy can be saved, and human fitness improved.

DISCOVERING CLUSTERING PATTERNS FROM E-COUNTER DATA STREAMS

Abstract. Clustering data streams has gained popularity in recent years due to their potential of generating relevant information for planning building automation, evaluating energy efficiency scenarios, and simulating emergency protocols in indoor spaces. In this paper, a Data Stream Affinity Propagation (DSAP) clustering algorithm is proposed for analyzing indoor localization data generated from e-counters systems. The data streams are a sequence of potentially infinite and non-stationary data points, arriving continuously where random access to the data is not feasible and storing all the arriving data is impractical. The DSAP model is developed based on a two-phase approach (i.e., online and offline clustering phases) using the landmark time window model. It is non-parametric in the sense of not requiring any prior knowledge about the number of clusters and their respective labels. The validation and performance of the DSAP model is evaluated using real-world data streams from a behavioural experiment aimed at finding new spatio-temporal patterns in stair usage due to an educational intervention campaign.

Relationship between bone mass and the frequency of stair usage in community-dwelling older adults

Relationship between bone mass and the frequency of stair usage in community-dwelling older adults

Stair versus elevator use in a university residence hall setting

Objective Determine the temporal and spatial characteristics of stairs versus elevator use in a university residence hall to inform future physical activity promotion efforts. Participants All residents and visitors for a single, four-story residence hall dormitory building located on a college campus in Orange, CA. Methods Smart mat systems capable of detecting pedestrian traffic were placed in front of the stairs and elevators on each floor plus a basement. Generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) were used to compare stair versus elevator usage at different times of the day and on different floors. Results Stair versus elevator use varied much more throughout the day on floors nearest to the ground floor, with stair use most common in the morning. Overall, the elevator was used more frequently on higher floors, with less variation throughout the day. Conclusion To be most effective, future stair promotion interventions should target residents on higher floors and in the morning.

When weight is an encumbrance; avoidance of stairs by different demographic groups.

Locomotion is an energy costly behaviour, particularly when it entails raising weight against gravity. Minimization of locomotor costs appears a universal default. Avoidance of stair climbing helps humans minimise their energetic costs. In public access settings, demographic subgroups that raise more 'dead' weight than their comparison groups when climbing are more likely to avoid stairs by choosing the escalator. Individuals who minimise stair costs at work, however, can accumulate a deficit in energy expenditure in daily life with potential implications for weight gain. This paper tests the generality of avoidance of stairs in pedestrians encumbered by additional weight in three studies. Pedestrian choices for stairs or the alternative were audited by trained observers who coded weight status, presence of large bags and sex for each pedestrian. Sex-specific silhouettes for BMIs of 25 facilitated coding of weight status. Choices between stairs and a lift to ascend and descend were coded in seven buildings (n = 26,981) and at an outdoor city centre site with the same alternatives (n = 7,433). A further study audited choices to ascend when the alternative to stairs was a sloped ramp in two locations (n = 16,297). Analyses employed bootstrapped logistic regression (1000 samples). At work and the city centre site, the overweight, those carrying a large bag and females avoided both stair climbing and descent more frequently than their comparison groups. The final study revealed greater avoidance of stairs in these demographic subgroups when the alternative means of ascent was a sloped ramp. Minimization of the physiological costs of transport-related walking biases behaviour towards avoidance of stair usage when an alternative is available. Weight carried is an encumbrance that can deter stair usage during daily life. This minimization of physical activity costs runs counter to public health initiatives to increase activity to improve population health.

Motivational signage increases stair usage on a Hispanic serving institution

Objective: Stair climbing is considered a good physical activity. Motivational signage has been successful in promoting stair usage in various settings. This study was to investigate the effects of motivational signage on stair usage in a Hispanic serving institution. Participants: A total of 31,067 pedestrians were observed from February to March 2013. Methods: Stair usage was monitored for 9 h per day each week at phase 1 (baseline), 2 (intervention), and 3 (post-intervention). Results: Overall, participants’ stair usage was higher during phase 2 (49.0%) and phase 3 (48.0%), compared with phase 1 (39.7%). The participants during phase 2 and 3 were more likely to use the stairs compared to participants during phase 1, regardless of floor level (3-story or 4-story building), status (student or staff/faculty), and time of day (7:30–10:29, 10:30–13:29, or 13:30–16:30) (p < .001). Conclusion: Motivational signage can effectively encourage more stair usage, and hence promote healthy behavior in a predominantly Hispanic-serving institution.

A Multicomponent Intervention to Encourage Stair Use in Municipal Buildings.

Evaluate the incremental impact of environmental stairwell enhancements on stair usage in addition to prompts. Phased, nonrandomized, quasi-experimental intervention. Two 6-story and one 8-story municipal government office buildings-each with 2 stairwells. Approximately 2800 municipal employees and 1000 daily visitors. All stairwells received door wraps and point-of-decision and wayfinding prompts. Environmental enhancements were installed in 1 stairwell in each of the 2 buildings: wall paint, upgraded stair treads and handrails, artwork, light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, fire-rated glass doors, and removal of security locks on at least the ground floor. Staff surveys and focus groups, electronic and direct measures of stair and elevator use occurred at baseline and over 3 years of phased implementation and follow-up. Change in the proportion of vertical movement by stairs using χ2 analysis. The prompts were associated with a significant increase in stair use (odds ratio [OR] = 1.36; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.31-1.41), with an average absolute increase of 3.2%. Environmental enhancements were associated with an additional significant increase in stair use (OR = 1.31; 95% CI: 1.25-1.37) beyond prompts alone with an average absolute increase of a further 3.5% that was sustained for 1 year. The initial increases in stair use with prompts alone were not sustained. Implementing environmental stairwell enhancements in office buildings increased stair usage in a sustained manner beyond that achieved by prompts alone.

Is there sufficient evidence regarding signage-based stair use interventions? A sequential meta-analysis

ObjectiveThe proliferation of studies using motivational signs to promote stair use continues unabated, with their oft-cited potential for increasing population-level physical activity participation. This study examined all stair use promotional...

Is There Sufficient Evidence Regarding Signage-based Stair-use Intervention Studies ? A Sequential Meta-Analysis

PURPOSE: The proliferation of stair-use promotion studies continues unabated, with their oft-cited potential for ‘increasing population level physical activity participation’. This study examined all stair use promotional studies since 1980, where pre- and post-promotional sign estimates of stair use are provided. The aim of this project was to conduct a sequential meta-analysis [using Stata 11] to pool the results to determine when the ‘evidence base’ was sufficient for population-wide dissemination. METHODS: Using comparable data from 52 stair-promoting studies [57 unique estimates] we combined data to assess the pooled effect size across time of such interventions. RESULTS: At baseline, median stair usage across interventions was 8.1%, with an absolute median increase of 2.2% in stair use following interventions. The overall pooled odds ratio indicated that participants were 52% more likely to use stairs after exposure to promotional signs (adj OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.37-1.70); however, incremental [sequential] meta-analyses using z-score methods identified that no further evidence on the effect size of such studies accumulated beyond research published in 2005. CONCLUSIONS: The study has important policy and practice implications, as researchers increasingly publish stair use interventions, without connection to policy makers or the public health system to test and trial scaling-up and replicating promotional signs in wider community settings. Without substantial efforts at dissemination, these stair-use promotional programs will not impact on population levels of active living or physical activity.

Smart Wheelchair Stair Lift Using RFID Detection Method and Fuzzy-PI with PLC Ladder Control

This paper presents the development of wheelchair stair lift with an intelligent control system that aim to apply for helping the mobility of ageing, disabled and wheelchair people who are suffered from any inconvenience causes of building stair usages and also served for the fire stair evacuation path in the same time. The stair lift is controlled by PLC with the fuzzy proportional plus integral (F-PI) controller combined on their driver functions called as fuzzy ladder control which can generate an appropriate setting voltage and torque to maintain a target position and speed of stair lift when it move along the stair path with shorter time of accessing, travelling and dwelling process. To gain the precise value of target position and speed , the DC motor drive with smart steering gear box that are coupled on two stair guide rails is designed for acting easily as a linear moving control by F-PI controller. By several tests of the unknown characteristics of wheelchair users, the F-PI controller can solve this kind of problems with more efficiency because of the main advantage of fuzzy logic is that no mathematical model is required but can be achieved higher performance with the effective tuning parameters especially in an initial setting process. For more efficiency, the RFID detection method is applied to use for identifying and automatically accessing of wheelchair users who want to use this stair lift with some important data such as their name, age or weight as the prior knowledge data of the initial setting process. By applying the proposed system, performance has been improved by mathematical analysis, solid work simulation, matlab simulation and several tests at laboratory room and real building stair. The results are better than the conventional PI control with more accuracy, correctly, smoothly, stability and safety. Finally, the all system can work well as design concept and the future work will further improve the system performance both in mechanical and control part for more practical to use in any real stair usage.

BuildingEXODUS를 이용한 에스컬레이터 피난 모델링에 관한 연구 - 대구 반월당 지하철역을 중심으로 -

As the buildings are going to be highest and biggest, elevator and escalator are used as the main vertical transportation in building. Especially, because of high transport rate in escalator, occupants prefer to use escalator. In this paper, movement characteristics are analyzed for applying escalator evacuation model and modelling several scenarios using the buildingEXODUS against real fire. Before this study, occupants survey are conducted about awareness of emergency exit location and vertical means of evacuation. After, considering of real evacuation(which has high density), subway station is suitable because of high flow movement. Peak time is extracted as observing CCTV. Therefore, in this extracted peak time, escalator and stair usage, walker and rider usage and occupants speed are extracted. Therefore, this study re-acted and evacuation simulation which had been conducted three kinds of scenarios. These scenarios contain percentage of escalator/stair usage, walker/rider usage and escalator movement situation. The simulation results demonstrate that escalator strategies and associated human factors can have a considerably influence upon and evacuation compared to using stairs alone.

Effects of Point-of-Choice Prompts on Stair Usage in a Psychiatric Setting

Effects of Point-of-Choice Prompts on Stair Usage in a Psychiatric Setting

Increasing Stair Use in an Office Worksite through an Interactive Environmental Intervention

Examine the effects of an interactive environmental intervention on stair usage. A nonrandomized, quasi-experimental intervention. Two three-story office buildings. Approximately 200 employees at the intervention site and 140 at the comparison site. The stairwell was decorated with interactive paintings such as maps, storyboards, and wish lists to encourage employees to take the stairs rather than the elevator. Daily stair and elevator usage were measured using electronic sensors or door-access card counters for 2 weeks prior to the intervention and 6 weeks after. The daily counts of stair use were modeled using a Poisson regression to estimate the effect of the intervention on staircase use. At baseline, the mean proportion of stair use relative to stair plus elevator use at the intervention site was 31.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 30.3%-32.7%). During the 6-week intervention period, this proportion increased significantly to 66.2% (95% CI, 64.4%-67.9%). There was no significant change in stair use at the comparison site. In a Poisson regression of the daily number of stair users, the incidence rate ratio associated with the intervention was 2.57 (95% CI, 2.35-2.82). This interactive environmental intervention increased stair usage in an office setting relative to the comparison site, and this increase was sustained over a 6-week period. Adding interactive components to motivational or environmental change interventions shows promise in increasing stair usage.

Boosting workplace stair utilization: A study of incremental reinforcement.

This study was designed to determine whether engagement in stair taking can be increased in a worksite setting through the provision of an employer-sponsored, behavior-based incentive system in which employees (members) accumulate points that can be redeemed for merchandise. ChipRewards implemented stair utilization in one employer as a part of a larger health incentive engagement program. Using an AB (baseline-intervention) design, members (N = 216) were observed for 6 months (6.17.10 to 12.14.10 or 129 weekdays after excluding 52 weekend days) before the intervention (baseline) and after 6 months (1.1.11 to 6.30.11 with the same number of weekdays) of implementation. Members were 84% female, 51% Caucasian, 48% African American, 3% Hispanic, and 45 years average age. The number of total stair transactions for all members for all days monitored increased from 5,070 to 38,900, and the average number of stair transactions per day rose from 39 to 301, representing over a 600% increase. The overall cost of incentives for stair utilization was $3,739.30 or $17.55 per member on average. This study supports that stair usage in the workplace is a viable way to increase physical activity. This study adds to existing research that attempted to increase stair utilization through promotion only by adding a behavioral reinforcement strategy. Finally, this study demonstrates that a physical activity among employees at the worksite can be increased with minimal relative cost.

Walk as Directed! Adolescents’ Adherence to Pedometer Intervention Protocol

Despite frequent use of pedometers in interventions targeting youth PA, there is no literature that addresses the prevalence and reasons for protocol nonadherence. Adherence behaviors of early adolescents (n = 43; Meanage = 12.3 ± 1.0) in an 8-week, faith-based intervention were monitored/recorded. Students provided reasons for various aspects of protocol breach, which were used to develop a post intervention questionnaire. Analyses included calculations of frequency/percentage as well as cross tabulations/chi square to detect gender/age differences. Over the intervention, recording PA in logs decreased by 85% and was attributed to forgetfulness and lack of time. For pedometers, highest-frequency events included error codes (n = 501), incorrect wear (37%, ≥ 1 day), and shaking (58%-69%, ≥ 1 time). Top reasons for shaking were to make up for lost step opportunities and get further along the route. Of permissible stepping strategies, males used ambulatory activity on the playground and stair usage more, while 6th graders used speed stepping in place more than their respective counterparts. Students admit to basal levels of nonadherence, which should be taken into consideration when designing/implementing interventions. Integrating intervention tasks into the regular curriculum and providing sufficient opportunities to perform them may alleviate some barriers to adherence. Future research should attempt to confirm results in other school types/levels as well as quantify these behaviors in free-living or unstructured settings.

Step it UP: A Multicomponent Intervention to Increase Stair Use in a University Residence Building

Examine the effects of a multicomponent intervention on stair usage. Nonrandomized controlled intervention. Two multistory university dormitories. Total of 5711 direct observations of university dormitory residents. The 2-week "Step It UP" intervention used poster prompts and fun/competitive challenges with incentives to encourage residents to take the stairs instead of the elevators. Ascending stair and elevator use was directly observed and coded for gender at high traffic times in intervention and control dormitories for 14 nonconsecutive hours over 1 week each at baseline, midintervention, and 1 week postintervention. The proportions of ascending stair and elevator users were compared using χ(2) analyses. Baseline stair use was equal between intervention and control dormitories (24.9% and 27.8%, respectively; χ(2)[1, N = 1849] = .08; p = .77). Stair use significantly increased from baseline in the intervention dormitory to 33.24% (χ(2)[1, N = 2192] = 18.44; p < .001) compared with no change in the control. Stair use returned to baseline in the intervention dormitory at postintervention (25.4%; χ(2)[1, N = 2297] = .08; p = .78). There were no significant differences between genders. This multicomponent, short-duration intervention significantly increased stair usage in a university dormitory relative to the control but was unable to sustain the increase when prompts were removed. Campaigns to sustain stair use are needed. Formative assessment is required to determine what combinations of components may yield the most cost-effective approach for future interventions.

Effect of Motivational Signage on Stair and Elevator Usage

Effect of Motivational Signage on Stair and Elevator Usage

Are point-of-decision prompts in a sports science and medicine centre effective in changing the prevalence of stair usage? A preliminary study

Objective . To determine the impact of a signed intervention on promoting stair versus lift usage in a health and fitness facility. Design. A 3-week observational study in which a simple timeseries design of collecting data before, during and after the introduction of an intervention was used. Setting. The Sports Science Institute of South Africa (SSISA): a 5-storey building with a centrally located lift lobby and internal stairwell. Method . Observers were placed unobtrusively on the ground floor, with good visibility of lift/stairwell, to observe ascending movement of students, staff, tenants, visitors and patients 4 hours/day (07h00 - 09h00, 16h00 - 18h00), 4 days/week for 3 weeks. During week 2, motivational signs were displayed on the wall next to the lift and stairs and on the floor leading to the stairwell. In week 3, signage was removed. Factors considered in predicting stair use were gender, phase of intervention, and whether persons were staff/students or visitors. Results . A total of 4 256 person-counts were recorded. Prevalence of stair use increased from 43% before the intervention to 53% during the intervention to 50% after the intervention. Odds of using the stairs during the intervention increased by 45% (odds ratio (OR) 1.45, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25 - 1.68) (p Conclusion . Signed intervention produced significant increases in stair usage during and after the intervention. These findings support the effectiveness of point-of-decision prompts for changing behaviour, and highlight potential factors influencing the impact of such messages.