Evaluating the effectiveness of implementation intentions in a pedometer worksite intervention

Pedometer-based worksite interventions have been found to be successful in increasing physical activity (PA) but adherence is challenging.

To examine the use of Implementation Intentions (II), a self-regulatory skill, with self-monitoring with a pedometer to initiate behavior change as well as post-intervention adherence in a worksite wellness intervention.

University employees (N = 54) participated in an 8-week pedometer-based intervention. A 2-arm randomized trial was used to compare the effectiveness of 1) only pedometers (PED) (n = 28) and 2) pedometers and II (PED+II) (n = 26) on PA.

Significant differences were observed between time points (p < .0001) but not between groups. Post-hoc pairwise comparisons between the time points revealed difference between Baseline and Week 4 (mean difference: 2446.9 steps/ day; p < 0.001), Week 4 and 12 (mean difference: 2956.3 steps/ day; p < 0.001), and Week 8 and 12 (mean difference: 2228.8 steps/ day; p = 0.005).

The PED+II group had higher step increases during the intervention indicating that the behavioral strategy was effective. However, participants in both groups had a significant decrease in steps from the end of the intervention to the delayed-post assessment highlighting the challenge to maintain behavioral changes post-intervention.