BACKGROUND: Most work sites engage in some form of health promotion programming designed to improve worker health and reduce health care costs. Although these programs have typically been delivered through combinations of seminars and print materials, workplace health promotion programs are increasingly being delivered through the Internet. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of a Web-based multimedia health promotion program for the workplace, designed to improve dietary practices, reduce stress, and increase physical activity. METHODS: Using a randomized controlled trial design with pretest-posttest comparisons within each group, 419 employees of a human resources company were randomly assigned to the Web-based condition or to a condition that provided print materials on the same topics. All subjects were assessed at pretest and posttest through an online questionnaire containing multiple measures of health behavior and attitudes. The test period was 3 months. Questionnaire data were analyzed mainly by analysis of covariance and t tests. RESULTS: Retention rates were good for both groups—85% for the Web-based group and 87% for the print group. Subjects using the Web-based program performed significantly better than the print group on Attitudes Toward a Healthful Diet (F<sub>1,415</sub> = 7.104, P = .008) and Dietary Stage of Change (F<sub>1,408</sub> = 6.487, P = .01), but there were no significant group differences on the five other dietary measures. Both groups also showed improvement from pretest to posttest on most dietary measures, as indicated by significant t tests. Within the Web-based group, dosage analyses showed significant effects of the number of times the subject accessed the program on measures of Dietary Self-Efficacy (F<sub>2,203</sub> = 5.270, P = .003), Attitudes Toward a Healthful Diet (F<sub>2,204</sub> = 2.585, P = .045), and Dietary Stage of Change (F<sub>2,200</sub> = 4.627, P = .005). No significant differences were found between the two groups on measures of stress or physical activity, although t tests of pretest-posttest changes indicated that both groups improved on several of these measures. The Web-based group gave significantly higher ratings to the program materials than the print group on all health topics and in their overall evaluation (F<sub>1,410</sub> = 9.808, P = .002). CONCLUSIONS: The Web-based program was more effective than print materials in producing improvements in the areas of diet and nutrition but was not more effective in reducing stress or increasing physical activity. The higher ratings given to the Web-based program suggest that workers preferred it to the print materials. Both groups showed numerous pretest-posttest improvements in all health topics, although such improvements might be attributable in part to a Hawthorne effect. Results suggest that a multimedia Web-based program can be a promising means of delivering health promotion material to the workforce, particularly in the area of diet and nutrition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
BACKGROUND: The major objective of this prospective study was to evaluate the effects of aerobic exercise intervention with goals of improving health-related physical fitness in one high-tech company in Taiwan.
METHODS: This study was conducted as a quasi-experimental design. Among the 54 subjects enrolled in the study, 26 subjects of the volunteers agreed to participate in an aerobic exercise program. The control group was comprised of a similar sample of 28 subjects working at the same company. Subjects in the exercise group participated in a 12-week aerobic exercise program, while subjects in the control group did not participate.
RESULTS: The results of analysis of variance with repeated measures of health-related physical fitness showed that the subjects in the exercise group had significantly more improvements in abdominal muscle strength and endurance than the subjects in the control group.
CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated that one 12-week aerobic exercise program was effective in improving the abdominal muscle strength and endurance of employees of a high-tech company.
BACKGROUND: A significant proportion of Europeans do not meet the recommendations for 30 mins of physical activity 5 times per week. Whether lower frequency, moderate intensity exercise alters cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk has received little attention. This study examined the effects of 45 minutes self-paced walking, 2 d. wk(-1) on aerobic fitness, blood pressure (BP), body composition, lipids and C-Reactive Protein (CRP) in previously sedentary civil servants.
METHODS: 37 subjects (24 women) aged 41.5 +/- 9.3 years were randomly assigned to either two 45 minute walks per week (walking group) or no training (control group). Aerobic fitness, body composition, blood pressure (BP), CRP and lipoprotein variables were measured at baseline and following 8 weeks. Steps counts were measured at baseline and during weeks 4 and 8 of the intervention.
RESULTS: Compared to the control group, the walking group showed a significant reduction in systolic BP and maintained body fat levels (P < 0.05). There were no changes other risk factors. Subjects took significantly more steps on the days when prescribed walking was performed (9303 +/- 2665) compared to rest days (5803 +/- 2749; P < 0.001).
CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that walking twice per week for 45 minutes at approximately 62% HRmax, improves activity levels, reduces systolic BP and prevents an increase in body fat in previously sedentary adults. This walking prescription, however, failed to induce significant improvements in other markers of cardiovascular disease risk following eight weeks of training.
The purpose of this study was to determine the 2-year impact of a worksite-based diabetes prevention program. Thirty-seven pre-diabetic and previously undiagnosed diabetic employees participating in a 12-month worksite diabetes prevention program were included. Weight, body mass index, waist circumference, oral glucose tolerance testing, fasting insulin, blood lipids, and aerobic fitness had improved significantly after 6 months. Much of this improvement continued through 12 months. One year following the intervention, oral glucose tolerance and aerobic fitness had improved significantly. Of the 22 employees remaining in the study through 24 months, more than half had normal results on glucose tolerance testing. Worksite diabetes prevention programs may reduce blood glucose below pre-diabetic and diabetic levels. Improvements in diabetes risk factors persisted for at least 2 years in most of these employees.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a 12-week workplace e-mail intervention designed to promote physical activity and nutrition behavior.
DESIGN: A pre- and post-test design was conducted to compare the effects of e-mail messages between intervention and control groups.
SETTING: Five large workplaces in Alberta, Canada.
SUBJECTS: Employees with access to a personal e-mail address (N = 2121) were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 1566) or a control group (n = 555).
INTERVENTION: Physical activity and nutrition messages were based on social-cognitive theories. The intervention group received one physical activity and one parallel nutrition message per week for 12 weeks. The control group received no weekly messages.
MEASURES: Each participant completed self-report measures of physical activity and nutrition related to knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors 1 week before (time 1) and 1 week after (time 2) the intervention.
RESULTS: The intervention group was more efficacious at time 2 on measures of self-efficacy, pros, cons, intentions, and behavior related to physical activity. This group also reported more favorable changes in practicing healthy eating, balancing food intake with activity level, cooking meals with techniques to reduce fat, and avoiding eating high-fat foods. Effect sizes for all significant differences were small.
CONCLUSION: E-mail is a promising mode of delivery for promoting physical activity and nutrition in the workplace. Further theoretically driven studies are needed.
BACKGROUND: It is a common belief that physical exercise at the workplace decreases subjective health complaints and reduces sickness absence, but this is not supported by previous randomized studies.
AIMS: To evaluate the effectiveness of physical exercise at the workplace.
METHODS: One hundred and twenty-nine employees in a community-based nursing home for the elderly were randomized into physical exercise or control groups. A weekly exercise class consisting of light aerobic exercise, muscle strengthening and stretching was held for a 6-month period. The control group was told to continue their ordinary activity. The main outcome measures were aerobic fitness (UKK, walking test), health-related quality of life (COOP/WONCA) and sickness absence. Blinded assessments were carried out at baseline and following the 6-month intervention. Complete sickness absence data were collected from a community register for two comparable 7-month periods.
RESULTS: The average number of exercise sessions was 12 (0-26). Self-reported physical activity increased in the intervention group compared with the control group (P < 0.01). Aerobic fitness improved in both groups (P < 0.01). Mean sickness absence increased from 6.8 to 15.6 days in the exercise group and from 10.4 to 14.5 in the control group. No differences between groups were found for aerobic fitness, health-related quality of life or sickness absence.
CONCLUSION: The intervention neither improved health-related quality of life nor reduced sickness absence.
The aim of this study was to compare changes in aerobic fitness and body composition in response to British Army (regular) and Territorial Army (reserve) basic training. Eleven regular recruits, 14 reserve recruits, and 20 controls completed the study (all males). Initially, reserve recruits were significantly older and heavier and had greater fat-free mass (FFM; 64.6 vs. 59.3 kg) and lower maximal oxygen uptake (Vo(2)max; 39.1 vs. 43.9 ml.kg(-1).min(-1)) than regular recruits. Both regular and reserve training significantly increased FFM and Vo(2)max and decreased percentage body fat. Regular training produced a greater increase in Vo(2)max than reserve training (13.1 vs. 7.6%, p < 0.0005). Reserve training produced a greater increase in body mass (2.2 vs. 0.9 kg, p = 0.019) and tended to produce a greater increase in FFM (2.6 vs. 1.6 kg, p = 0.062). Although both training programs improve aerobic fitness and body composition, increasing the volume of physical training in the reserve training program would probably enhance the training adaptations achieved.
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the short-term and long-term effectiveness of two, brief, preventive, work stress management programmes. One programme was a cognition-focused programme, the other was a newly developed intervention in which physical exercise and relaxation were combined. It was hypothesised that the newly developed intervention would be more effective in reducing psychological complaints than the cognitive intervention. Both programmes consisted of four sessions in a period of 10 weeks.
METHODS: From a working population engaged in a periodic health check-up, employees above a minimum stress level (n=396) were invited to participate in a randomised comparative outcome study with pre-trial, post-trial and 6-month follow-up measures. After giving informed consent 130 participants entered the study (response rate 33%). Outcome measures consisted of three self-reported questionnaires on psychological complaints.
RESULTS: It was found that both interventions revealed a positive impact on psychological complaints, burnout and fatigue, both at short-term and at 6-month follow-up. No statistical interaction effects between the two interventions were found. Calculation of the clinical significance of the effects indicated that 50% of the employees with psychological complaints who participated in the physical intervention and 60% of the employees who participated in the cognitive intervention improved and returned to functioning within normal range both in the short term and in the long term at 6 months.
CONCLUSION: The data indicate that interventions were equally effective on psychological complaints, burnout and fatigue.
Most work sites engage in some form of health promotion programming designed to improve worker health and reduce health care costs. Although these programs have typically been delivered through combinations of seminars and print materials, workplace health promotion programs are increasingly being delivered through the Internet.
OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of a Web-based multimedia health promotion program for the workplace, designed to improve dietary practices, reduce stress, and increase physical activity.
METHODS:
Using a randomized controlled trial design with pretest-posttest comparisons within each group, 419 employees of a human resources company were randomly assigned to the Web-based condition or to a condition that provided print materials on the same topics. All subjects were assessed at pretest and posttest through an online questionnaire containing multiple measures of health behavior and attitudes. The test period was 3 months. Questionnaire data were analyzed mainly by analysis of covariance and t tests.
RESULTS:
Retention rates were good for both groups—85% for the Web-based group and 87% for the print group. Subjects using the Web-based program performed significantly better than the print group on Attitudes Toward a Healthful Diet (F1,415 = 7.104, P = .008) and Dietary Stage of Change (F1,408 = 6.487, P = .01), but there were no significant group differences on the five other dietary measures. Both groups also showed improvement from pretest to posttest on most dietary measures, as indicated by significant t tests. Within the Web-based group, dosage analyses showed significant effects of the number of times the subject accessed the program on measures of Dietary Self-Efficacy (F2,203 = 5.270, P = .003), Attitudes Toward a Healthful Diet (F2,204 = 2.585, P = .045), and Dietary Stage of Change (F2,200 = 4.627, P = .005). No significant differences were found between the two groups on measures of stress or physical activity, although t tests of pretest-posttest changes indicated that both groups improved on several of these measures. The Web-based group gave significantly higher ratings to the program materials than the print group on all health topics and in their overall evaluation (F1,410 = 9.808, P = .002).
CONCLUSIONS:
The Web-based program was more effective than print materials in producing improvements in the areas of diet and nutrition but was not more effective in reducing stress or increasing physical activity. The higher ratings given to the Web-based program suggest that workers preferred it to the print materials. Both groups showed numerous pretest-posttest improvements in all health topics, although such improvements might be attributable in part to a Hawthorne effect. Results suggest that a multimedia Web-based program can be a promising means of delivering health promotion material to the workforce, particularly in the area of diet and nutrition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
