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5
global burdens of non-communicable disease. The World Health Organization states that a
failure to respond to physical inactivity will contribute to “further negative impact on health
systems, the environment, economic development, community well-being, and quality of life for
all” (WHO Discussion Paper, 2018, #15). Because workplace physical activity intervention
programs have been associated with increased employee productivity, improved mood, reduced
stress, and increased job satisfaction (Coulson et al., 2008; Puig-Ribera et al., 2015), changing
employee rates of physical activity in the workplace may transform performance and lower
employer healthcare costs (Loeppke et al., 2007). Further investigation into the best ways to
create institutional cultural support to change sedentary behavior in higher education is necessary
for the health of employees and more optimal university function (Abraham et al., 2011).
Exploring the promising practice of the PCU Get Fit program will provide insight into a program
that currently enjoys success utilizing institutional resources to offer a physical activity
intervention that employees voluntarily and consistently use.
Description of Stakeholder Groups
At PCU, there are many stakeholders for whom rates of employee physical activity and
sedentary behavior are particularly relevant, including the following: university senior
administration; administrators of related university academic departments and facilities,
including physical education; administrators of related university services departments, such as
fitness and recreational activities; university employees; and students. Ultimate responsibility for
allocating resources, promoting programming, and setting workplace standards to increase
employee physical activity lies with university senior administration. If institutional
determination exists more broadly to reduce sedentary behavior, in line with World Health
Organization goals to reduce sedentary behavior by 20% by 2025 (WHO Fact Sheet, 2018), then
Object Description
| Title | Physical activity interventions to reduce rates of sedentary behavior among university employees: a promising practice study |
| Author | DeFrank, Ginny Mary |
| Author email | ginnydefrank@gmail.com;defrank@usc.edu |
| Degree | Doctor of Education |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line) |
| School | Rossier School of Education |
| Date defended/completed | 2020-06-19 |
| Date submitted | 2020-08-11 |
| Date approved | 2020-08-11 |
| Restricted until | 2020-08-11 |
| Date published | 2020-08-11 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Malloy, Courtney |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Canny, Eric Stowe, Kathy |
| Abstract | The purpose of this study was to understand factors influencing employee participation in a university-offered physical activity program to inform recommendations for other institutions of higher education seeking to address high rates of university employee sedentary behavior with physical activity programming. The instructor-led program was held four times per week beginning at noon each day and lasted one hour in duration on a university campus in the western United States. The program, which was offered at no cost to employees, typically served 20-30 participants each week. The Clark and Estes Gap Analytic Framework (2008) was employed to assess relevant knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences affecting university employee engagement with the physical activity program. The study utilized a convergent parallel mixed methods design, engaging 24 university employees by means of a fifty-four-item quantitative survey. Six survey respondents also participated in interviews. Research findings revealed the importance of the interplay of employee factual and metacognitive knowledge, as well as motivation influences including self-efficacy and expectancy value within the organization’s cultural models and settings. Recommendations for other institutions seeking to engage employees in physical activity were informed by the findings and supported by a review of literature. Recommendations include the use of training, communication strategies, information guides, modeling, and opportunities for reflection to meet employee knowledge and motivational needs. Evaluating and changing organizational policies, cultural values, and existing physical activity programming was recommended to ensure employees understand an organization’s support for participation in physical activity. Additionally, implications for practice involved a focus on the role of instructors and the development of communities of continuity to support and improve rates of university employee engagement in physical activity during the workday. |
| Keyword | sedentary behavior; physical activity; workplace physical activity; physical activity intervention; university physical activity; exercise |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | DeFrank, Ginny Mary |
| Physical access | The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given. |
| Repository name | University of Southern California Digital Library |
| Repository address | USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 7002, 106 University Village, Los Angeles, California 90089-7002, USA |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-DeFrankGin-8921.pdf |
| Archival file | Volume13/etd-DeFrankGin-8921.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 14 |
| Full text | 5 global burdens of non-communicable disease. The World Health Organization states that a failure to respond to physical inactivity will contribute to “further negative impact on health systems, the environment, economic development, community well-being, and quality of life for all” (WHO Discussion Paper, 2018, #15). Because workplace physical activity intervention programs have been associated with increased employee productivity, improved mood, reduced stress, and increased job satisfaction (Coulson et al., 2008; Puig-Ribera et al., 2015), changing employee rates of physical activity in the workplace may transform performance and lower employer healthcare costs (Loeppke et al., 2007). Further investigation into the best ways to create institutional cultural support to change sedentary behavior in higher education is necessary for the health of employees and more optimal university function (Abraham et al., 2011). Exploring the promising practice of the PCU Get Fit program will provide insight into a program that currently enjoys success utilizing institutional resources to offer a physical activity intervention that employees voluntarily and consistently use. Description of Stakeholder Groups At PCU, there are many stakeholders for whom rates of employee physical activity and sedentary behavior are particularly relevant, including the following: university senior administration; administrators of related university academic departments and facilities, including physical education; administrators of related university services departments, such as fitness and recreational activities; university employees; and students. Ultimate responsibility for allocating resources, promoting programming, and setting workplace standards to increase employee physical activity lies with university senior administration. If institutional determination exists more broadly to reduce sedentary behavior, in line with World Health Organization goals to reduce sedentary behavior by 20% by 2025 (WHO Fact Sheet, 2018), then |
