[A cross-sectional study of physical activity promotion projects and organizational factors in the workplace]

The benefits of physical activity are well-recognized but physical activity promotion projects (PAPP) are not well implemented in workplaces, resulting in an evidence-practice gap. This study identified the organizational factors associated with PAPP in the workplace in Japan.

A self-administered questionnaire survey was postal mailed to 3,266 listed companies (with ≥ 50 employees) in Japan. The items surveyed included the presence or absence of PAPP and 29 organizational factors. Organizational factors were also extracted from interviews with corporate health managers. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) was applied. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted with the presence or absence of PAPP as the objective variable, each quartile group (Q1-Q4) of the total number of relevant organizational factors as the explanatory variable, and the basic workplace attributes as the covariate.

The analysis covered 301 workplaces. Of these, 98 (32.6%) had implemented PAPP. The adjusted odds ratio for PAPP for each group based on Q1 was 1.88 (0.62-5.70) for Q2, 3.38 (1.21-9.43) for Q3, and 29.69 (9.95-88.59) for Q4. The association between each organizational factor and PAPP was high for the constructs in the 'inner setting' of the CFIR. The observed adjusted odds ratios for these items were: 'there is a precedent for PAPP' 12.50 (6.42-24.34), 'there is a budget for the health department' 10.36 (5.24-20.47), 'understanding of the health department manager' 8.41 (4.43-15.99), 'understanding of workplace management' 7.63 (4.16-14.02), 'employee 7.31 (3.42-15.64), and 'requests from employees' 7.31 (3.42-15.64).

There was a quantity-response relationship between the number of applicable organizational factors and PAPP. It has been suggested that the expansion of organizational factors may lead to PAPP. In particular, the creation of an internal atmosphere and the promotion of understanding among the people concerned may be useful.