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148
expertise. While many colleges and universities have the potential to use or augment existing
resources, the organizational will must exist to recognize employee physical activity
programming as a need and to allocate resources accordingly for organizational performance
(Bakker & Demerouti, 2007; Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). Evaluating existing programming
and offering or improving programming said programming is, therefore, necessary to address
this organizational influence.
Implications for Future Research
As previously discussed, the need for further research into effective ways to reduce
sedentary behavior and engage people in physical activity is well known, as is the need for
workplace physical activity studies. Extensive literature exists describing the specific needs for
improved study designs; study rigor; participant diversity; longitudinal tracking; integration of
behavioral change and other theoretical approaches; and reporting of results; among other needs.
As such, suggestions offered here resulted specifically from this promising practice study and its
data analysis.
One area that warrants further investigation involves the use of fitness technology and its
influence in encouraging physical activity participation and reducing sedentary behavior. The use
of fitness technology is an area of suggested and current research in health promotion and
preventive medicine (PA Guidelines Advisory Committee, 2018), given its potential to reach a
large number of people with fitness information, prompts, and data. In the context of this study,
results were mixed among participants in terms whether or not they used fitness applications and
the level of influence that fitness technology had on their physical activity behaviors and
decisions. Interview participants indicated that they did not use fitness app technology in relation
to their participation in organized Get Fit classes, which may suggest the need to investigate
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 157 |
| Full text | 148 expertise. While many colleges and universities have the potential to use or augment existing resources, the organizational will must exist to recognize employee physical activity programming as a need and to allocate resources accordingly for organizational performance (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007; Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). Evaluating existing programming and offering or improving programming said programming is, therefore, necessary to address this organizational influence. Implications for Future Research As previously discussed, the need for further research into effective ways to reduce sedentary behavior and engage people in physical activity is well known, as is the need for workplace physical activity studies. Extensive literature exists describing the specific needs for improved study designs; study rigor; participant diversity; longitudinal tracking; integration of behavioral change and other theoretical approaches; and reporting of results; among other needs. As such, suggestions offered here resulted specifically from this promising practice study and its data analysis. One area that warrants further investigation involves the use of fitness technology and its influence in encouraging physical activity participation and reducing sedentary behavior. The use of fitness technology is an area of suggested and current research in health promotion and preventive medicine (PA Guidelines Advisory Committee, 2018), given its potential to reach a large number of people with fitness information, prompts, and data. In the context of this study, results were mixed among participants in terms whether or not they used fitness applications and the level of influence that fitness technology had on their physical activity behaviors and decisions. Interview participants indicated that they did not use fitness app technology in relation to their participation in organized Get Fit classes, which may suggest the need to investigate |
