Efficacy of a Combined Ergonomic Health Promotion Intervention on Employee Health

Our objective in this pilot study is to test the combined effect of a) replacing office workers' sedentary workstations with active workstations (LifeBalance Station) and b) optimizing computer workstation ergonomics on daily occupational sedentary time, cardiometabolic risk factors, musculoskeletal symptom health outcomes and work productivity.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Overweight; Sedentary
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Active Workstation Intervention; Behavioral: Ergonomic Intervention; Behavioral: Email Intervention; Device: Bluetooth enabled device (Wahoo Fitness Blue SC sensor) and accompanying iPod application.

Detailed Description

Primary Aim: To compare the effects of providing sedentary employees with seated active workstations in combination with an ergonomic intervention and regular motivational emails (experimental group) against the ergonomic intervention and regular emails only (active control group) on occupational sedentary behavior over 16 weeks.

Hypothesis: The addition of a seated active workstation will result in significant reductions in daily occupational sedentary time compared to the active control group.

Secondary Aims: To compare the effects of the experimental group against the active control group on secondary measures of cardiometabolic disease risk factors, musculoskeletal discomfort, cognitive function and work productivity.

Hypothesis 1: The experimental group will result in reduced cardiometabolic disease risk, musculoskeletal discomfort and work limitations compared to the active control group.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 60
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Iowa
    • Iowa City, Iowa, United States, 52242
      • University of Iowa

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• We will recruit overweight/obese (body mass index 25.0-40.0 kg/m2) adults (18-65 years) working in full-time (minimum 35 hours/week), sedentary (self-report sitting >75% work time) occupations at an independent work site.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Working in an office that will not meet the space or electrical requirements of the active workstation, acute or chronic illness not under treatment of a provider, orthopedic limitations that prohibit physical activity, current or planned pregnancy, hospitalization from a physical or mental disorder in the past six months and/or taking medication that may impair physical activity

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Experimental Group; This group will receive the seated active workstation intervention, the ergonomic intervention and the email intervention for 16 weeks.	Behavioral: Active Workstation Intervention; Participants in the experimental group will receive a seated active workstation at their work setting for 16 weeks.; Behavioral: Ergonomic Intervention; Participants of both arms will receive a face to face ergonomic workstation optimization intervention. This consultation will take 30 minutes to complete and will be performed at the participant's actual work station.; Behavioral: Email Intervention; Participants of both arms will receive three emails per week for 16 weeks. Messages will be consistent with what they hear in the ergonomic intervention (e.g., encourage taking breaks from sitting at work and adjusting posture to be in line with ergonomic principles).; Device: Bluetooth enabled device (Wahoo Fitness Blue SC sensor) and accompanying iPod application.
Active Comparator: Active Control; This group will receive the ergonomic intervention and email intervention only for 16 weeks. This group will not receive a seated active workstation.	Behavioral: Ergonomic Intervention; Participants of both arms will receive a face to face ergonomic workstation optimization intervention. This consultation will take 30 minutes to complete and will be performed at the participant's actual work station.; Behavioral: Email Intervention; Participants of both arms will receive three emails per week for 16 weeks. Messages will be consistent with what they hear in the ergonomic intervention (e.g., encourage taking breaks from sitting at work and adjusting posture to be in line with ergonomic principles).; Device: Bluetooth enabled device (Wahoo Fitness Blue SC sensor) and accompanying iPod application.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Occupational Physical Activity From Baseline to 16 Weeks	Occupational physical activity (primary outcome) will be measured objectively with the GENEActiv physical activity monitor. The monitor will be worn on the right ankle and will be worn for 5 working days during all non-bathing hours. The outcome measure will be change in occupational activity (average counts/work day) from baseline to 16 weeks. The measure will be calculated as follows: 16 weeks value - baseline value.	Baseline and 16 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Iowa

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Carr LJ, Leonhard C, Tucker S, Fethke N, Benzo R, Gerr F. Total Worker Health Intervention Increases Activity of Sedentary Workers. Am J Prev Med. 2016 Jan;50(1):9-17. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2015.06.022. Epub 2015 Aug 7.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: January 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2014
• Study Completion (Actual): July 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 21, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 24, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): February 25, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 23, 2017
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 20, 2017
• Last Verified: September 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Body Weight; Overweight
• Other Study ID Numbers: 201306711