Program implementation and effectiveness of a national workplace physical activity intervention: UPnGO with ParticipACTION

Abstract

Intervention UPnGO with ParticipACTION (UPnGO) is a 6-week workplace physical activity (PA) initiative aiming to increase habitual PA (steps) during the workday. Core intervention components included (1) self-monitoring of steps and action planning behaviours using a Web/mobile app with incentives and (2) organizational support, which included senior management's role modeling and endorsement of the program. Research question What is the effectiveness and levels of implementation of the UPnGO intervention? What is the relationship between effectiveness and levels of implementation? Methods A single-arm, pre-/post-test study design was used. Participants were 660 employees from nine organizations who had valid step data and complete socio-demographic information at baseline. The primary outcome (mean daily steps) was assessed by Garmin VivoFit. Using the usage data from the UPnGO web-based system, a composite score for levels of implementation was calculated based on participant's compliance with the self-monitoring component and senior management's role modeling. Associations of interest were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models. Results Levels of implementation were highly variable across organizations (mean = 68.22% ± 18.75, range = 19.8 to 100%). A significant Time × Implementation (IM) status interaction effect was observed. When stratified by IM status, a significant increase in mean daily steps at week 6 was found among participants in the high (β = 540.01 ± 202.69, p = 0.011) but not low (β = − 81.54 ± 291.96, p = 0.78) implementation group. Conclusion Findings suggest significant intervention effects in increasing average daily steps among participants who were exposed to optimal levels of implementation (~70%). UPnGO may be a scalable workplace PA intervention at a national level, although this needs further verification with more rigorous study designs.

The use of the behaviour change wheel in the development of ParticipACTION’s physical activity app

“…Furthermore, adults’ physical activity levels can be influenced by multiple social and environmental contextual variables depending on personal interests ( Burton et al, 2012 , Welk and Kim, 2015 ). Some of these variables include location (i.e., home, outdoors, at work, center-based), companions (i.e., alone or with a family member, coworkers, or friend), time of day (i.e., morning, afternoon, evening), structure (i.e., flexible or scheduled), and other aspects such as fun, music, and convenience ( Burton et al, 2012 , Lau and Faulkner, 2019 , Welk and Kim, 2015 ). Therefore, there is no ‘one model fits all’ approach and effective strategies to increase physical activity participation must be diverse in order to reflect people’s preferences ( Sallis et al, 2000 ).…”

An Evaluation of a Commercialized mHealth Intervention to Promote Physical Activity in the Workplace

“…The commercialized UPnGO program was a 12-month workplace PA intervention that evolved from the initial piloted 6-week intervention ( 10 ). Development of the program was guided by the Behavior Change Wheel (BCW) model ( 13 ) and grounded in the concept that increasing employees' behavior change capability/skills (e.g., action planning, self-monitoring) and creating an active workplace culture (i.e., a supportive social environment as reflected by leadership support of PA and PA opportunities) would increase employees' engagement in PA (i.e., daily steps) and decrease sitting behaviors at the workplace.…”

“…Development of the program was guided by the Behavior Change Wheel (BCW) model ( 13 ) and grounded in the concept that increasing employees' behavior change capability/skills (e.g., action planning, self-monitoring) and creating an active workplace culture (i.e., a supportive social environment as reflected by leadership support of PA and PA opportunities) would increase employees' engagement in PA (i.e., daily steps) and decrease sitting behaviors at the workplace. A complete description of the program development and theoretical underpinnings can be found in Lau and Faulkner ( 10 ).…”

“…A similar sampling frame was used for the commercialization of UPnGO as with the pilot phase of the study as described by Lau and Faulkner ( 10 ). Companies were identified through ParticipACTION's personal networks, as well as companies that publically declared a focus on encouraging physically active workplaces and workplace wellness, and companies recognized as “top employers” and “top places to work” were targeted.…”

“…Intervention components included self-monitoring of steps and action planning behaviors via a web/mobile app with incentives and organizational support, including role modeling from senior management and program endorsement. A significant increase of ~540 steps/day at week 6 was found among participants in workplaces with optimal levels of implementation, defined as high fidelity (supportive environment for PA) and dose-received (participant program engagement) ( 10 ).…”