Promoting physical activity in the workplace: A systematic meta-review

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Public Health Interventions
• Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

• Physically active individuals exhibit reduced disease risk compared to sedentary counterparts.
• Workplace physical activity (PA) programs are extensively studied, with numerous systematic reviews (SR) and meta-analyses (MA) published.
• Existing reviews often overlook crucial factors influencing intervention effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To classify and describe workplace PA promotion interventions.
• To analyze interventions based on evidence from SR/MA.
• To identify patterns and domains of focus in workplace PA programs.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a literature search for SR/MA from January 2006 to February 2015.
• Assessed SR/MA quality using the AMSTAR tool.
• Classified interventions using the PRECEDE-PROCEED model into predisposing, enabling, reinforcing, environment, and policy domains.

Main Results:

• Eleven SR/MA, encompassing 220 primary studies (63% randomized controlled trials), were analyzed.
• Of 48 identified interventions, 46% targeted predisposing factors (e.g., information, motivation, training) and 35% targeted enabling factors (e.g., resources, facilities).
• Reinforcing approaches (incentives, social support), environmental development, and policy regulation were also identified.

Conclusions:

• This systematic meta-review successfully classified workplace PA interventions using a robust framework.
• The study described intervention patterns, offering insights into the current landscape of workplace health promotion.