Nudges used to promote physical activity and to reduce sedentary behaviour in the workplace: Results of a scoping review

IntroductionPhysical activity (PA) workplace health promotion (WHP) interventions have traditionally used a top-down research approach where end-users are considered as passive subjects. Whereas participatory research (PR) involves the end-users within the research process utilising a bottom-up approach which allows the integration of the researcher’s expertise and the end-users lived experiences, which has been shown to aid in the acceptability and relevance of the research. This protocol describes a scoping review which will explore, identify and map PR techniques and their impact when used in office-based WHP interventions designed to improve PA and reduce sedentary behaviour levels.Methods and analysisThis scoping review will follow the guidelines and framework proposed by Levac et al and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. Articles will be retrieved via five databases: Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar and OpenGrey, searching from 1 January 1995, to the date of search in 2022. A search strategy was piloted, to identify appropriate keywords and MeSH terms. Two independent reviewers will screen retrieved articles based on our inclusion and exclusion criteria by title and abstract first, followed by the full text. Our key inclusion criteria relating to our population, intervention, comparison, outcome framework will be to include studies which focused on office-based working adults and that the PA WHP took a PR approach. Articles written in non-English languages will be excluded. Any discrepancies will be discussed until a consensus is reached. Data will be extracted, charted and summarised via a narrative synthesis and qualitative thematic analyses.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval was not required for this scoping review. The completed scoping review findings will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal which has a research scope that encompasses PR and WHP. The findings will be presented at appropriate academic conferences and to project partners to inform the design of a WHP intervention.

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Dissemination and implementation of national physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and/or sleep guidelines among community-dwelling adults aged 18 years and older: a systematic scoping review and suggestions for future reporting and research

Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism ◽

10.1139/apnm-2020-0251 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 45 (10 (Suppl. 2)) ◽

pp. S258-S283

Author(s):

J.R. Tomasone ◽

K.D. Kauffeldt ◽

T.L. Morgan ◽

K.W. Magor ◽

A.E. Latimer-Cheung ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Sedentary Behaviour ◽

Scoping Review ◽

General Public ◽

Implementation Strategies ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Dissemination And Implementation ◽

National Movement ◽

The Impact ◽

Strategy Classification

Strategies for dissemination (purposive distribution of a guideline to specific audiences) and implementation (actions to support the general public in meeting guideline recommendations/behavioural benchmarks) of national movement guidelines (physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviour, and sleep) have yet to be synthesized. The purpose of this systematic scoping review was to identify strategies for dissemination and implementation of national PA, sedentary behaviour, and/or sleep guidelines among community-dwelling adults (aged >18 years) and/or stakeholders in Canada and analogous countries. Five search approaches (e.g., published literature, grey literature, targeted web-based, custom Google, and content expert consultation) identified records (e.g., empirical studies, organizational reports, website pages, or guideline messages) that discussed and/or evaluated dissemination or implementation strategies for a prespecified list of guidelines. A modified strategy classification system was developed to chart the data. Forty-seven reports met inclusion criteria. Dissemination strategies (n = 42) were more frequently reported than implementation strategies (n = 24). Implementation strategies were more frequently evaluated (n = 13 vs. 7 dissemination strategies) and associated with positive outcomes. The 13 studies that evaluated strategies were at high or serious risk of bias. We identified limited information about the dissemination and implementation of national movement guidelines and identified strategies were rarely evaluated. Greater efforts are required to increase the impact of guidelines among the general public and stakeholders and to build the evidence base in this field. (Open Science Framework registration: https://osf.io/4tyw3 .) Novelty An adapted movement guideline dissemination and implementation strategy classification framework is provided. Knowledge translation efforts should be documented and evaluated to advance science and practice in the movement guideline field.

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Using nudges to promote physical activity and to reduce sedentary behaviour in the workplace: a scoping review protocol

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038205 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. e038205

Author(s):

Sarah Forberger ◽

Frauke Wichmann ◽

Chiara Nicoletta Nicoletta Comito

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Decision Making ◽

Health Promotion ◽

Sedentary Behaviour ◽

Scoping Review ◽

Workplace Health Promotion ◽

Choice Architecture ◽

Workplace Health ◽

Best Interest ◽

Screening Process

IntroductionPhysical inactivity and sedentary behaviour are associated with numerous health problems and increasing risks of premature morbidity and mortality. Workplace health promotion with a focus on increasing physical activity (PA) and reducing sedentary behaviour is of growing interest. The concept of choice architecture with the use of nudges is a promising approach to influence decision making regarding health behaviours. It can help to understand why people often fail to act in their best interest, to follow well-informed preferences or to achieve their set goals. Nudges, the way the choice is presented, can help to overcome these challenges by using the same habits, biases or boundaries to alter our decision-making in favour of the more preferred behaviour. Aims of the scoping review will be to analyse (a) to what extent the concept of choice architecture is used in workplace health promotion to promote PA and/or to reduce sedentary behaviour and (b) which instruments (nudges) are used to archive that.Methods and analysesMedline, PsychInfo, Web of Science and CINHAL will be searched from 2009 until June 2020. Applying a two-level screening process, title and abstracts will be screened according to a set of predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Included articles will be screened a second time to determine the extent to which choice architecture has been used. Analyses for publication year, location, setting and target group will be provided. Interventions will be analysed presenting the instruments used, number of studies per instrument, combinations of instruments and alteration of the environment. Outcome measures and results will be reported as they occur.Ethics and disseminationDue to the nature of the scoping review, ethical concerns are minimal. No patient data will be included. Results are published in peer-review journals.

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