A Blended Intervention to Promote Physical Activity, Health and Work Productivity Among Office Employees

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The primary objective of this study is to examine between-group differences in changes of objectively measured MVPA levels (min/week) among a randomly selected sample of office employees who are physically inactive in Hong Kong.

Detailed Description
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Regular participation in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is related to decreased risk of morbidity and mortality. Among working populations, lack of MVPA may also be a risk factor for absenteeism and presenteeism. Both traditional workplace-based and web-based interventions have been suggested as being effective in promoting participation MVPA, health-related outcomes, and work-related productivity. However, several challenges limit their application in real world contexts. A 'blended' intervention approach combining the two intervention strategies is proposed to overcome these limitations. The proposed intervention aims to utilize the blended approach to increase participation in MVPA, health-related outcomes, and work productivity among inactive workers. Methods: The study will comprise of a three group cluster randomized controlled trial (cluster-RCT), comprising a three-month actual intervention and a nine-month behavioral follow-up period. The three groups will be: a web-based intervention group, a blended intervention group combining the web-based components with face-to-face workshops, and a control group. Physically inactive office employees (N = 141) from will be recruited and randomly assigned to the three groups by cluster randomization. The intervention mapping (IM) framework will be used for selecting and applying effective health behavioural theories and behavioural change techniques (BCTs) to the development, implementation and assessment of the intervention, which will be personally tailored. The primary outcome variable will be objectively measured MVPA using an accelerometer. Secondary outcomes will consist of indices of health including adiposity, blood pressure, blood sugar, blood lipids, self-reported depression, anxiety, stress, and health-related quality of life, and work-related variables including absenteeism and presenteeism.

Official Title
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A Blended Intervention to Promote Physical Activity, Health and Work Productivity Among Office Employees Using Intervention Mapping: A Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Conditions
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Physically Well But Worried

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: blended intervention
* Behavioral: web-based intervention


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: physically inactive (do NOT meet the WHO's recommended MVPA levels) office employees in Hong Kong. Exclusion Criteria: participants are engaging other ongoing programs involving MVPA promotion if they report any conditions preventing them from being active.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: web-based intervention group<br>Except Library, the participants in this group will also have access to the Intervention sub-section of the website. It will consist of six sessions delivered every two weeks following the same time schedule as the essay delivery in Library. | Behavioral: web-based intervention<br>* A web-based intervention only referred to the use of internet without traditional face-to-face workshops and posters<br>|
| Experimental: blended intervention group<br>Except visiting Library and Intervention of the website, the participants in this group will also receive three face-to-face workshops (40 min per session) held at their workplaces. | Behavioral: blended intervention<br>* A blended intervention group combining the web-based components with face-to-face workshops and posters<br>|
| No Intervention: Control group<br>The participants in the control group will have access to the Library sub-section of the website. General information of MVPA, health and work productivity will be provided with 18 short essays, which can be downloaded and printed out. The information will be factual and non-personally tailored. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) levels | examine between-group differences in changes of objectively measured MVPA levels (min/week) among a randomly selected sample of office employees who are physically inactive in Hong Kong | up to 11, 15, 18 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| changes of self-report MVPA levels (min/week) | To examine between-group differences in changes of self-reported MVPA levels (min/week) in different domains among the sample. | up to 11, 15, 18 months | 
| Height in meters | Height will be measured to the nearest 0.1 cm using a stadiometer. | up to 11, 15, 18 months | 
| Weight in kilograms | Weight will be measured to the nearest 0.1 kg on a calibrated digital balance scale (Seca, max. 200 kg, Germany) with the participants wearing lightweight clothing and no shoes. | up to 11, 15, 18 months | 
| Body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) | Body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) will be calculated from weight and height. | up to 11, 15, 18 months | 
| Waist circumference (cm) | Waist circumference (cm) will be measured midway between the lowest rib margin and the top of the iliac crest at the end of gentle expiration | up to 11, 15, 18 months | 
| %Body fat | %BF will be assessed by a Tanita TBF-410 Body Composition Analyzer (Tanita Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) using foot-to-foot bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). | up to 11, 15, 18 months | 
| Blood pressure | Blood pressure will be measured using the Omron M6 Compact (HEM-7000-E, Omron Healthcare Corporation, Kyoto, Japan) following standard measurement protocols. | up to 11, 15, 18 months | 
| Fasting blood glucose | Hemoglobin A1C will be measured using the Reflotron ® Plus system (Roche Diagnostics, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Burgess Hill, UK). | up to 11, 15, 18 months | 
| Depression, anxiety and stress | Depression, anxiety and stress will be measured using the Chinese version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) | up to 11, 15, 18 months | 
| Health-related quality of life | Health-related quality of life will be measured using the Chinese version of the 12-itme Short-Form Health Survey Version 2. | up to 11, 15, 18 months | 
| Presenteeism | It will be assessed using presenteeism questions derived from the WHO's Heath and Work Performance Questionnaire (HPO). | up to 11, 15, 18 months | 
| High-density lipoprotein | high-density lipoprotein will be measured using the Reflotron ® Plus system (Roche Diagnostics, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Burgess Hill, UK). | up to 11, 15, 18 months | 
| Triglyceride | Triglyceride will be measured using the Reflotron ® Plus system (Roche Diagnostics, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Burgess Hill, UK). | up to 11, 15, 18 months | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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physical activity, health promotion