Cue-Reminders to Prevent Health-Risk Behaviors: A Systematic Review

Which Intervention Strategies Promote the Adoption and Maintenance of Physical Activity? Evidence From Behavioral Trials With Cancer Survivors

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE

We address four questions about interventions to promote physical activity in cancer survivors: (a) How often is both the adoption and maintenance of behavior change tested in trials? (b) How often do interventions generate adoption-plus-maintenance of behavior change? (c) Are intervention strategies specifically geared at promoting maintenance of behavior change deployed in trials? and (d) Which intervention strategies distinguish trials that promote both the adoption and maintenance of physical activity from trials that promote adoption-only or generate no behavioral changes?

METHODS

Computerized literature searches identified 206 reports of randomized trials that measured physical activity in the wake of the intervention.

RESULTS

Only 51 reports (24%) measured both behavioral adoption (postintervention) and behavioral maintenance (≥3 months follow-up). The 51 reports included 58 tests of interventions; 22% of tests observed both adoption and maintenance of physical activity, 26% reported adoption-only, and 52% found no change in behavior. Change techniques designed to promote behavioral maintenance were used much less frequently than adoption techniques or adoption and maintenance techniques. Interventions that aimed to improve quality of life, used supervised exercise sessions, were undertaken in community centers, and deployed fewer behavior change techniques were associated with adoption-plus-maintenance of physical activity in cancer survivors.

CONCLUSIONS

The present findings offer new insights into the adoption and maintenance of physical activity and highlight the need to routinely assess these forms of behavior change in future trials. More extensive testing of intervention strategies specifically geared at maintenance of behavior change is warranted.

Start moving - benefits of an onsite workplace health program in the age of digitalization

Background

The process of digitization should simplify our work and improve related processes (i.e. quality, transparency). Moreover, it enables the home office, which is greatly expanded due to the current pandemic. Regarding workplace health, it should be noted that with increasing digitization, physical activity decreases, and as a result, the number of work-related diseases will increase. On the other hand, increasing digitization also offers promising opportunities for new approaches to workplace health promotion. With these positive as well as negative effects in mind, we designed a workshop to increase physical activity at work. This protocol describes our approach to a live workshop concept.

Methods

We use a randomized controlled trial with two intervention groups: a live workshop with and without additional reminders. The workshop intervention design consists of a baseline measurement, two workshops, and one follow-up measurement. Each workshop takes place in small groups (n < 11). We use a randomized allocation to both groups. To control for health-related effects and the expected behavior change we examine (i) physical activity (i.e. active time, taken steps, etc.) by a tracking device (ii) physical wellbeing, motivation, and volition by an online questionnaire, and (iii) participants also report physical activity by a diary. All measurements are taken one week before the respective workshop and 24 weeks after the initial baseline measures.

Discussion

A live workshop offers advantages such as very personal interactions and a low technical effort. However, during the current pandemic, there are some limitations (i.e. small groups, pay attention to hygienic guidelines). Based on the upcoming experiences of this workshop, a web-based approach might offer some advantages (i.e. easier daily implementation, independent from a participant’s location) regarding home office workplaces and the increasing digitization. On the other hand, there are also mandatory requirements as a stable internet connection and technical equipment (i.e. webcam, microphone). Overall, a step by step development of a web-based workshop, based on the experience of the live workshop, can be regarded as advantageous.

Trial registration

Since this article reports a health promotion intervention concept with human participants, we registered it in the German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS). Number:DRKS00021512, Date:30.10.2020.