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21
workplace (WHO Discussion Paper, 2018). Workers who remain seated for the majority of their
workdays may benefit from workplace interventions as a complement to physical activity that
they perform or engage in outside of their workplaces. The use of desks that can be adjusted to
allow for sitting and standing throughout the day may be important tools for people to reduce the
overall amount of sedentary behavior in which they engage (PA Guidelines Advisory
Committee, 2018). While material supports like adjustable workplace furniture may assist in
interrupting prolonged periods of sedentary behavior, research demonstrates that combining
environmental, educational, behavioral, and policy changes in the workplace has the strongest
effect in changing overall sedentary behaviors among workers (PA Guidelines Advisory
Committee, 2018). Examples of the aforementioned relevant workplace changes include things
like point-of-decision prompts to use the stairs or guide an individual’s choice toward active
movement; educational classes and workshops; messaging and communication related to health;
and formally organized walking or aerobic instruction groups. Given the breadth and type of
interventions that are possible, ongoing study and research is needed to determine the most
appropriate combination of interventions for a specific workplace.
Higher education is a worksite setting where workplace interventions can effectively be
monitored to determine outcomes and behavior changes over time. Additionally, universities are
settings where high-risk groups can be targeted for interventions that would complement broader
public health goals. Such interventions would also allow for the tracking of the short- and long-term
benefits of exercise experienced by university employees (Alkhatib, 2015). Universities
may also have existing resources and infrastructure to allow for the ease of program
implementation and behavior interventions among populations in need of behavior change
(Plotnikoff et al., 2015). Additionally, university employees’ typical competencies with
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 30 |
| Full text | 21 workplace (WHO Discussion Paper, 2018). Workers who remain seated for the majority of their workdays may benefit from workplace interventions as a complement to physical activity that they perform or engage in outside of their workplaces. The use of desks that can be adjusted to allow for sitting and standing throughout the day may be important tools for people to reduce the overall amount of sedentary behavior in which they engage (PA Guidelines Advisory Committee, 2018). While material supports like adjustable workplace furniture may assist in interrupting prolonged periods of sedentary behavior, research demonstrates that combining environmental, educational, behavioral, and policy changes in the workplace has the strongest effect in changing overall sedentary behaviors among workers (PA Guidelines Advisory Committee, 2018). Examples of the aforementioned relevant workplace changes include things like point-of-decision prompts to use the stairs or guide an individual’s choice toward active movement; educational classes and workshops; messaging and communication related to health; and formally organized walking or aerobic instruction groups. Given the breadth and type of interventions that are possible, ongoing study and research is needed to determine the most appropriate combination of interventions for a specific workplace. Higher education is a worksite setting where workplace interventions can effectively be monitored to determine outcomes and behavior changes over time. Additionally, universities are settings where high-risk groups can be targeted for interventions that would complement broader public health goals. Such interventions would also allow for the tracking of the short- and long-term benefits of exercise experienced by university employees (Alkhatib, 2015). Universities may also have existing resources and infrastructure to allow for the ease of program implementation and behavior interventions among populations in need of behavior change (Plotnikoff et al., 2015). Additionally, university employees’ typical competencies with |
