A systematic review of workplace health promotion interventions for increasing physical activity

Malik, Sumaira H.; Blake, Holly; Suggs, L. Suzanne

Abstract

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.

Citation

Malik, S. H., Blake, H., & Suggs, L. S. (2014). A systematic review of workplace health promotion interventions for increasing physical activity. British Journal of Health Psychology, 19(1), https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12052

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 15, 2013
• Online Publication Date: Jul 4, 2013
• Publication Date: Jan 8, 2014
• Deposit Date: Nov 2, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 2, 2016
• Journal: British Journal of Health Psychology
• Print ISSN: 1359-107X
• Electronic ISSN: 2044-8287
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 1
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12052
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/722049
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12052
• Additional Information: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Malik, S. H., Blake, H. and Suggs, L. S. (2014), A systematic review of workplace health promotion interventions for increasing physical activity. Br J Health Psychol, 19: 149–180. doi:10.1111/bjhp.12052, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12052. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.