Changing Diet and Physical Activity in Nurses: A Pilot Study and Process Evaluation Highlighting Challenges in...

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Behavioral Science
• Public Health Interventions

Background:

• Workplace interventions are crucial for promoting health behaviors among healthcare professionals.
• Nurses face unique challenges including high stress, fatigue, and time constraints.
• Evaluating implementation factors is key to intervention success.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a diet and physical activity (PA) workplace intervention for nurses using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework.
• To identify key implementation and contextual factors influencing intervention outcomes.
• To understand the feasibility of simultaneous behavior change in a demanding occupational setting.

Main Methods:

• A 3-month pilot intervention incorporating self-monitoring, goal setting, and social support.
• Utilized pedometers, a smartphone app, and a Facebook group for intervention delivery.
• Assessed diet quality, daily PA, adoption, implementation (qualitative data), and maintenance at 6-month follow-up.

Main Results:

• Forty-seven nurses participated; fruit and vegetable intake increased (P=.04), but PA significantly decreased (P=.01).
• The intervention demonstrated partial adoption with low reach and efficacy.
• Participants found simultaneous behavior change difficult, preferring to focus on diet over PA.

Conclusions:

• Simultaneously altering diet and PA presents significant challenges for nurses.
• Future research should explore these challenges in similar high-stress occupational groups.
• Tailored, sequential, or single-behavior interventions may be more effective for this population.