The impact of an employee wellness programme in clothing/textile manufacturing companies: a randomised controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundThe 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 increased prevalence of non-communicable diseases. Worksite wellness programmes promise to promote behaviour changes amongst employees and to improve their HRQoL. The aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term effects of an employee wellness programme on HRQoL, health behaviour change, body mass index (BMI) and absenteeism amongst clothing and textile manufacturing employees.MethodsThe study used a randomised control trial design. The sample consisted of 80 subjects from three clothing manufacturing companies in Cape Town, 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 included the EQ-5D, Stanford Exercise Behaviours Scale, body mass index and absenteeism.Data was analysed with the Statistica-8 software program. 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 to determine the within group changes. The Mann–Whitney U test was used to determine the difference between the two groups.ResultsAt six weeks post intervention the experimental group (39 subjects) demonstrated improvement in almost every parameter. In contrast, apart from an overall decrease in time off work and a reduction in BMI for all study participants, there was no significant change noted in the behaviour of the control group (41 subjects). Seventy percent of the experimental group had improved HRQoL EQ-5D VAS scores post intervention, indicating improved perceived HRQoL. In comparison, only 58% of the control group had improved HRQoL EQ-5D VAS scores post intervention. There was no significant difference between the two groups at baseline or at six weeks post intervention.ConclusionAn employee wellness programme based on the principles of CBT combined with weekly aerobic exercise class was beneficial in improving the perceived HRQoL and changing health-related behaviours of clothing manufacturing employees. However, it cannot be concluded that the EWP was more effective than the once off health promotion talk as no significant changes were noted between the two groups at 6-weeks post intervention.This trial has been registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (trial registration number NCT01625039).

Mediation of effects of a theory-based behavioral intervention on self-reported physical activity in South African men

“…Few trials have specifically targeted adult men (George et al, 2012) or adults in developing countries like South Africa that are undergoing a health transition involving markedly increased NCD-mortality rates, especially among men (Cecchini et al, 2010; Mayosi et al, 2009; Mayosi et al, 2012). One of the few randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of a health-promotion intervention in South Africa found that the intervention did not increase physical activity compared with a control group (Edries et al, 2013). …”

Tendencias epistemológicas de las acciones de la salud pública. Una revisión desde la fisioterapia

“…Su principal desventaja es que no describe la importancia de cada factor dándole mayor énfasis al ámbito biológico e individual que a lo social. Este es el modelo que predomina encontrado en 17 investigaciones [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27].…”

Theory-based behavioral intervention increases self-reported physical activity in South African men: A cluster-randomized controlled trial

“…A recent RCT found that a worksite-wellness intervention did not increase self-reported physical activity, but the sample was small, 90% of participants were women, and the follow-up was brief, only six weeks post-intervention (Edries et al, 2013). Although a RCT found that an intervention increased self-reported physical activity in young South African adolescents (Jemmott et al, 2011), the current study is, to our knowledge, the first to demonstrate that a theory-based behavioral intervention can significantly increase self-reported physical activity among men in sub-Saharan Africa.…”

“…Although there have been numerous calls for interventions to increase physical activity among South Africans (Cecchini et al, 2010; Joubert et al, 2007; Mayosi et al, 2009; Mayosi et al, 2012; Pillay et al, 2012; Skaal and Pengpid, 2011; Temple, 2007), to our knowledge, only two RCTs testing physical-activity interventions in South Africa have been published. One focused on young adolescents (Jemmott et al, 2011); 90% of participants in the other were women (Edries et al, 2013). Besides physical inactivity, a high prevalence of other modifiable risk factors for NCDs, including high fat intake (Bourne et al, 2002), insufficient fruit-and-vegetable consumption (World Health Organization, 2013), and obesity (World Health Organization, 2011) has been documented among South Africans.…”