Impact of Employee Wellness Programme

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The introduction of a wellness programme for workers employed in a clothing factory will improve quality of life, pain, attendance at work and levels of physical activity.

Detailed Description
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Introduction: The prevalence of health risk behaviours is growing amongst South African employees. Health risk behaviours have been identified as a major contributor to reduced health related quality of life (HRQoL) and the increase prevalence of non-communicable diseases. Worksite wellness programmes promise to promote behaviour changes amongst employees and to improve their HRQoL. Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term efficacy of an employee wellness programme on HRQoL, health behaviour change, levels of self efficacy, pain intensity, body mass index (BMI) and absenteeism amongst clothing and textile manufacturing employees. Methods: The study was a randomised control trial consisting of 80 participants from three clothing manufacturing companies in South Africa. The experimental group was subjected to a wellness programme based on the principles of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) as well as weekly supervised exercise classes over six weeks. The control group received a once-off health promotion talk and various educational pamphlets, with no further intervention. Measurements were recorded at baseline and at six weeks post-intervention. Outcome measures used included the EQ-5D, Brief Pain Inventory-SF, Stanford Exercise Behaviours Scale, Stanford Self-Efficacy Scale, Stanford Self-Rated Health Scale, BMI and absenteeism. Data Analysis: All the data were analysed with the Statistica-8 software program. Although t-tests are the most commonly used statistical method for evaluating the differences in the means between two groups (e.g. control and experimental), it assumes that the variable is normally distributed. Thus, because the ordinal data were not normally distributed, non-parametric tests were used to evaluate the differences in the medians between the two groups and to determine the level of significance. The Sign test was used in place of the paired t-test to determine the within group changes. The Mann-Whitney U test was used in place of the independent t-test to determine the difference between the two groups.

Official Title
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The Impact of an Employee Wellness Programme in Clothing/Textile Manufacturing Companies: A Randomised Control Trial

Conditions
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Obesity

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Employee wellness programme
* Behavioral: Comparator (Once off educational session and educational materials)


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: All factory workers who volunteered to take part in the study Exclusion Criteria: Subjects were excluded from the study if they reported uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension, coronary heart disease or any other illness that rendered participation in the exercise component unsafe.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 60 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: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Intervention<br>Participated in weekly educational workshops | Behavioral: Employee wellness programme<br>* The experimental group was subjected to a wellness programme based on the principles of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) as well as weekly supervised exercise classes over six weeks.<br>* Other names: Exercise classes;|
| Active Comparator: Control group<br>Received once off educational session and materials | Behavioral: Comparator (Once off educational session and educational materials)<br>* Once off educational session and educational materials<br>* Other names: Health education;|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| EQ-5D | Generic Health Related Quality of Life measure | Baseline, change in EQ-5D at 6 weeks | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Stanford Exercise Behaviour Scale | Self reported participation in different forms of physical exercise | Baseline, change in stanford exercise behaviour at 6 weeks | 
| Body Mass Index | Measurement of height and weight using standardized scales. | Baseline, Change in BMI at 6 weeks | 
| Absenteeism from work | Scrutiny of attendance records | All absenteeism during the six weeks prior, during the six weeks of intervention and six weeks post intervention | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Occupational health, cognitive behavioural therapy, physiotherapy, physical activity