Stand Up Kansas: An Intervention to Reduce Sedentary Behavior in the Home Work Environment

Stand Up Kansas: An Intervention to Reduce Sedentary Behavior in the Workplace

This project will examine the effectiveness of an intervention to reduce sedentary behavior in Kansas State University employees who are primarily working from home. We will recruit 100 employees to participate. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of four conditions: desk only, program only, desk + program, or waitlist control. The program will consist of strategies to reduce sitting and increase physical activity in the home environment. We will assess whether the intervention successfully elicits reductions in sitting among employees, as well as changes in cardiometabolic and work-related outcomes.

Study Overview

• Status: Unknown
• Conditions: Hypertension; Obesity; Fatigue; Stress; Sedentary Behavior; Mood; Glucose, High Blood; Behavior, Health; Cholesterolemia
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Desk Only; Behavioral: Program Only

Detailed Description

For this project we will conduct a 12-week intervention that incorporates multiple strategies to reduce sedentary behavior among university employees who are primarily working from home. Participants will be recruited via campus networks.

Participants will attend an initial testing visit, during which anthropometric and health outcome data (blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol) will be collected. Following the testing visit, all participants will complete an activity log for the next 5 work days, and a subsample will wear an activPAL 4 device for 7 days. All participants will complete a series of questionnaires (measuring physical activity, fatigue, stress, productivity, mood, and diet) online.

After all baseline data have been collected, participants will be randomized to one of four conditions: desk only, program only, desk + program, or waitlist control. Those in the desk only and desk+program conditions will receive a height-adjustable desk. They will be asked to set up the desk at their home workstation and send a photo of the setup to our research team within one week. Those in the program only and control conditions will receive their height-adjustable desks after completing the post-intervention assessments. Participants assigned to the program only and desk+program conditions will have access to a website that includes a variety of resources for reducing sedentary behavior and increasing physical activity in the home environment. The intervention program will be based on social cognitive theory and will be designed to promote self-efficacy, self-regulation, positive outcome expectations, and social and environmental support. Participants will complete weekly modules that include activities such as goal setting and self-monitoring, action and coping planning, group discussions, etc. The program will also provide suggestions for changes to the home work environment, access to virtual stretching and strengthening videos, examples of technology to prompt breaks, etc. Participants will also receive 2 small group coaching calls via Zoom (at 3 and 8 weeks) to assist them in setting goals for reducing sedentary behavior and overcoming barriers. Participants in the desk only and waitlist control groups will receive access to the program after completing the post-intervention assessments.

All measures will be repeated following the 12-week intervention.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 100
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Kansas
    • Manhattan, Kansas, United States, 66506
      • Kansas State University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Full-time employee (works >30 hours per week)
• Sedentary job (>75% of workday seated)
• Working primarily at home (>80% of typical week)
• Able to safely engage in light intensity physical activity
• No ambulatory limitations

Exclusion Criteria:

• Working <30 hours per week
• Standing or physically active >25% of typical workday
• Working on campus >20% of a typical week OR planning to resume work on campus in the next 3 months
• Uncontrolled stage 2 (severe) hypertension without a medical release signed by a physician

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: PREVENTION
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: FACTORIAL
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Desk Only; Participants will receive a height-adjustable desk to use in their home work environment.	Device: Desk Only; Provision of height-adjustable desk; Other Names: VariDesk Pro Plus 36 height-adjustable desk
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Program Only; Participants will receive 12 weeks of online content to support reductions in sedentary behavior while working from home. Content will be based on social cognitive theory.	Behavioral: Program Only; Online modules will promote goal setting, self-monitoring, habit formation, social support, barrier identification, and environmental modifications
EXPERIMENTAL: Desk + Program; Participants will receive a height-adjustable desk to use in their home work environment AND 12 weeks of online content to support reductions in sedentary behavior while working from home.	Device: Desk Only; Provision of height-adjustable desk; Other Names: VariDesk Pro Plus 36 height-adjustable desk; Behavioral: Program Only; Online modules will promote goal setting, self-monitoring, habit formation, social support, barrier identification, and environmental modifications
NO_INTERVENTION: Waitlist Control; Participants will receive the intervention (desk + program) after all follow-up data have been collected.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in sedentary behavior during the workday	Measured via 5-day activity log	Baseline and 12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in physical activity	International Physical Activity Questionnaire (long form)	Baseline and 12 weeks
Changes in sitting, standing and stepping	activPAL (subsample)	Baseline and 12 weeks
Change in productivity	Health and Work Questionnaire	Baseline and 12 weeks
Change in stress	Perceived Stress Scale (4-item)	Baseline and 12 weeks
Change in fatigue	Fatigue Symptom Inventory	Baseline and 12 weeks
Change in mood	Positive and Negative Affect Schedule	Baseline and 12 weeks
Change in diet	Rapid Eating Assessment for Participants - Shortened Version	Baseline and 12 weeks
Change in blood pressure	Measured using automatic blood pressure cuff	Baseline and 12 weeks
Change in fasting blood glucose	Blood sample obtained via finger stick	Baseline and 12 weeks
Change in cholesterol	Total, HDL, and LDL; Blood sample obtained via finger stick	Baseline and 12 weeks
Change in triglycerides	Blood sample obtained via finger stick	Baseline and 12 weeks
Change in waist circumference	Measured to the nearest 0.5 cm	Baseline and 12 weeks
Change in weight	Measured in kg	Baseline and 12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Kansas State University
• Collaborators: University of Kansas Medical Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): October 21, 2020
• Primary Completion (ANTICIPATED): March 1, 2021
• Study Completion (ANTICIPATED): July 1, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 18, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 18, 2020
• First Posted (ACTUAL): November 24, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): November 24, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 18, 2020
• Last Verified: November 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: physical activity
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Fatigue
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB8886

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No