Mindful "Vitality in Practice": an intervention to improve the work engagement and energy balance among workers; the development and design of the randomised controlled trial

BMC Public Health

Study Protocol

Paulien M Bongers¹  Karin I Proper²  Jantien van Berkel²  Allard J van der Beek²  Cécile RL Boot² 

[1] Body@Work, Research Center on Physical Activity, Work and Health, TNO-VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;Department of Work and Employment, TNO Quality of Life, Hoofddorp, The Netherlands;Department of Public and Occupational Health - EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;Body@Work, Research Center on Physical Activity, Work and Health, TNO-VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;

关键词: Work Engagement;    Energy balance related behaviours;    Physical Activity;    Sedentary behaviour;    Dietary behaviour;    RCT;    Mindfulness;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-11-736

 received in 2011-08-24, accepted in 2011-09-27,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundModern working life has become more mental and less physical in nature, contributing to impaired mental health and a disturbed energy balance. This may result in mental health problems and overweight. Both are significant threats to the health of workers and thus also a financial burden for society, including employers. Targeting work engagement and energy balance could prevent impaired mental health and overweight, respectively.Methods/DesignThe study population consists of highly educated workers in two Dutch research institutes. The intervention was systematically developed, based on the Intervention Mapping (IM) protocol, involving workers and management in the process. The workers' needs were assessed by combining the results of interviews, focus group discussions and a questionnaire with available literature. Suitable methods and strategies were selected resulting in an intervention including: eight weeks of customized mindfulness training, followed by eight sessions of e-coaching and supporting elements, such as providing fruit and snack vegetables at the workplace, lunch walking routes, and a buddy system. The effects of the intervention will be evaluated in a RCT, with measurements at baseline, six months (T1) and 12 months (T2). In addition, cost-effectiveness and process of the intervention will also be evaluated.DiscussionAt baseline the level of work engagement of the sample was "average". Of the study population, 60.1% did not engage in vigorous physical activity at all. An average working day consists of eight sedentary hours. For the Phase II RCT, there were no significant differences between the intervention and the control group at baseline, except for vigorous physical activity. The baseline characteristics of the study population were congruent with the results of the needs assessment. The IM protocol used for the systematic development of the intervention produced an appropriate intervention to test in the planned RCT.Trial registration numberNetherlands Trial Register (NTR): NTR2199

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© van Berkel et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.