Date Presented 04/03/2025
This study presents insights into a multicomponent approach including mind–body exercise, environmental modification, and motivational strategy to improve the sedentary lifestyle of office workers that may be used for healthy workplace promotion by OTs.
Primary Author and Speaker: Laura Cong Wang
Contributing Authors: Erin Yiqing Lu, Yutong Li, Hector Winghong Tsang
PURPOSE: Office workers’ excessive sitting is a risk factor for both physical and mental health. It is essential to interrupt prolonged sitting and enhance their overall wellness. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention on employee’s sedentary behavior (SB) and psychophysiological outcomes.
DESIGN: Thirty-eight office workers (age ≥18 years) with sitting time over 5.5 hrs per workday were recruited from communities in Hong Kong. They were randomly assigned to intervention group(n = 19) or waitlist group (n = 19). The four-week intervention comprised of one health education session and three workshops focused on mind-body exercise and office environmental modifications aimed at reducing sitting time during the first two weeks, then followed by two weeks of supervised self-practice, along with regular reminders and weekly feedback on individual SB.
METHOD: The primary outcome was the sitting time during the 9-hour workday, as measured by the ActiGraph Wgt3X-BT and self-report by IPAQ scale at three assessment points: baseline (T1), after the 4-week intervention (T2), and at the 4-week follow-up (T3). Psychophysiological measurements included stress, quality of life, and sleep quality were measured by PSS, SF-36 and PSQI. ANOVA was utilized to explore between-group differences, while paired t-tests assessed differences within each group.
RESULT: Significant time effects were found for sitting time reduction during the 9-hour workday (p = 0.047), with a trend toward statistical significance for time-by-group interactions (F = 2.645, p = 0.08). The perceived stress, emotional role on the SF-36 subscale, and physical activity levels in the intervention group significantly improved from baseline to T1 (ps <0.05), but no significant changes were observed from T1 to T2.
CONCLUSION: This short-term multicomponent intervention demonstrated a promising efficacy and cost effectiveness in reducing SB of office workers and improving overall wellbeing.
References
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