Supporting Workers to Sit Less and Move More Through the Web-Based BeUpstanding Program: Protocol for a Single-Arm, Repeated Measures Implementation Study

Abstract

Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet #Preprint #PeerReviewMe: Warning: This is a unreviewed preprint. Readers are warned that the document has not been peer-reviewed by expert/patient reviewers or an academic editor, may contain misleading claims, and is likely to undergo changes before final publication, if accepted, or may have been rejected/withdrawn. Readers with interest and expertise are encouraged to sign up as peer-reviewer, if the paper is within an open peer-review period. Please cite this preprint only for review purposes or for grant applications and CVs (if you are the author). Background: The online BeUpstandingTM Champion Toolkit was developed to support work teams in addressing the emergent work health and safety issue of excessive sitting. It provides a step-by-step guide and associated resources that equip a workplace representative — the “champion” — to adopt and deliver the eight-week intervention program (BeUpstanding) to their work team. The evidence-informed program has been iteratively developed and optimised through a multi-phase process to ensure that it is fit-for-purpose for wide-scale implementation. This paper describes the current version of BeUpstanding, and the methods and protocol for a national implementation trial. Methods: The trial will be conducted in collaboration with five Australian workplace health and safety policy and practice partners. Desk-based work teams from a variety of industries will be recruited from across Australia via partner-led referral pathways. Recruitment will target sectors (small business, rural/regional, call centre, blue-collar, and government) that are of priority to the policy and practice partners. A minimum of 50 work teams will be recruited per priority sector with a minimum of 10,000 employees exposed to the program. A single-arm repeated measures design will assess the short-term (end of program) and long-term (nine months post-program) impacts. Data will be collected online via surveys and toolkit analytics, and by the research team via telephone calls with champions. The RE-AIM Framework will guide the evaluation, with assessment of: the adoption/reach of the program (the number and characteristics of work teams and participating staff); program implementation (completion by the champion of core program components); effectiveness (on workplace sitting, standing and moving); and, maintenance (sustainability of changes). There will be an economic evaluation of the costs and outcomes of scaling up to national implementation, including intervention affordability and sustainability. Discussion: The implementation and multi-method evaluation of BeUpstanding will provide the practice-based evidence needed for informing the potential broader dissemination of the program.