A systematic review of workplace health promotion interventions for increasing physical activity
Purpose The benefits of an active lifestyle are widely documented, yet studies show that only a small proportion of adults engage in sufficient levels of physical activity. The workplace presents an ideal avenue for delivering initiatives to promote physical activity, overcoming commonly cited ba...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Wiley
2014
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38444/ |
| _version_ | 1848795613037068288 |
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| author | Malik, Sumaira H. Blake, Holly Suggs, L. Suzanne |
| author_facet | Malik, Sumaira H. Blake, Holly Suggs, L. Suzanne |
| author_sort | Malik, Sumaira H. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Purpose
The benefits of an active lifestyle are widely documented, yet studies show that only a small proportion of adults engage in sufficient levels of physical activity. The workplace presents an ideal avenue for delivering initiatives to promote physical activity, overcoming commonly cited barriers such as a ‘lack of time’ and providing access to a large intersection of society. The purpose of this study was to (1) explore the types of interventions workplaces implement to promote physical activity among staff, (2) describe the characteristics of those interventions, (3) understand whether these interventions positively impact on activity levels, and (4) assess the methodological quality of studies.
Methods
A systematic review of workplace physical activity interventions published up to April 2011 was conducted to identify types of interventions and their outcomes.
Results
Of the 58 studies included, the majority utilized health promotion initiatives. There were six physical activity/exercise interventions, 13 counselling/support interventions, and 39 health promotion messages/information interventions. Thirty-two of these studies showed a statistically significant increase in a measure of physical activity against a control group at follow-up.
Conclusions
While the studies included in this review show some evidence that workplace physical activity interventions can be efficacious, overall the results are inconclusive. Despite the proliferation of research in this area, there is still a need for more well-designed studies to fully determine the effectiveness of workplace interventions for increasing physical activity and to identify the types of interventions that show the most promise. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:34:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-38444 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:34:52Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-384442020-05-04T16:42:02Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38444/ A systematic review of workplace health promotion interventions for increasing physical activity Malik, Sumaira H. Blake, Holly Suggs, L. Suzanne Purpose The benefits of an active lifestyle are widely documented, yet studies show that only a small proportion of adults engage in sufficient levels of physical activity. The workplace presents an ideal avenue for delivering initiatives to promote physical activity, overcoming commonly cited barriers such as a ‘lack of time’ and providing access to a large intersection of society. The purpose of this study was to (1) explore the types of interventions workplaces implement to promote physical activity among staff, (2) describe the characteristics of those interventions, (3) understand whether these interventions positively impact on activity levels, and (4) assess the methodological quality of studies. Methods A systematic review of workplace physical activity interventions published up to April 2011 was conducted to identify types of interventions and their outcomes. Results Of the 58 studies included, the majority utilized health promotion initiatives. There were six physical activity/exercise interventions, 13 counselling/support interventions, and 39 health promotion messages/information interventions. Thirty-two of these studies showed a statistically significant increase in a measure of physical activity against a control group at follow-up. Conclusions While the studies included in this review show some evidence that workplace physical activity interventions can be efficacious, overall the results are inconclusive. Despite the proliferation of research in this area, there is still a need for more well-designed studies to fully determine the effectiveness of workplace interventions for increasing physical activity and to identify the types of interventions that show the most promise. Wiley 2014-01-08 Article PeerReviewed Malik, Sumaira H., Blake, Holly and Suggs, L. Suzanne (2014) A systematic review of workplace health promotion interventions for increasing physical activity. British Journal of Health Psychology, 19 (1). pp. 149-180. ISSN 2044-8287 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12052 doi:10.1111/bjhp.12052 doi:10.1111/bjhp.12052 |
| spellingShingle | Malik, Sumaira H. Blake, Holly Suggs, L. Suzanne A systematic review of workplace health promotion interventions for increasing physical activity |
| title | A systematic review of workplace health promotion interventions for increasing physical activity |
| title_full | A systematic review of workplace health promotion interventions for increasing physical activity |
| title_fullStr | A systematic review of workplace health promotion interventions for increasing physical activity |
| title_full_unstemmed | A systematic review of workplace health promotion interventions for increasing physical activity |
| title_short | A systematic review of workplace health promotion interventions for increasing physical activity |
| title_sort | systematic review of workplace health promotion interventions for increasing physical activity |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38444/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38444/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38444/ |