Abstract
Introduction
Physical activity (PA) workplace health promotion (WHP) interventions have traditionally utilised a top-down research approach at an individual level where participants are considered as passive subjects. Whereas participatory research involves the participants and relevant stakeholders within the research process utilising a bottom-up approach which focuses on the health priorities of the participants and 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 participatory research techniques and their impact when utilised in office based WHP interventions designed to improve PA levels and/or decrease sitting time. Providing an overview of key characteristics of WHP interventions which took a participatory research approach.
Methods and analysis
This scoping review will follow the guidelines and framework from the PRISMA-ScR. Articles will be retrieved via five databases: Web of Science, PubMED, Scopus, Google Scholar and OpenGrey. A search strategy was piloted, and relevant review articles search strategies were explored, to identify appropriate key words 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. Any discrepancies will be discussed until a consensus is reached. Data will be extracted, charted and summarised via a narrative synthesis and qualitative analyses.
Ethics and dissemination
Ethical approval was not required or obtained for this scoping review. The completed scoping review findings will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal which has a research scope that encompasses participatory research and health promotion. The findings will be presented at appropriate academic conferences and to project partners to inform the design of a WHP intervention.
Strengths and limitations of this study
The proposed scoping review will explore and map the current participatory research techniques and approaches taken when completing an office-based workplace health promotion intervention designed to increase physical activity.
The scoping review by nature and the search strategy proposed will allow for a wide breadth of literature to be explored.
There is no critical appraisal or quality assessment of the included studies which is typical of a systematic review but not of a scoping review or the aim of this review article.
This scoping review has a narrow focus on physical activity and may limit/exclude articles aiming to improve psychological wellbeing or work performance.
Using a Participatory Research Approach in a School-Based Physical Activity Intervention to Prevent Diabetes in the Hualapai Indian Community, Arizona, 2002–2006
