Men’s Physical Activity and Sleep Following a Workplace Health Intervention: Findings from the POWERPLAY STEP Up challenge

The workplace provides an important delivery point for health promotion, yet many programs fail to engage men. A gender-sensitive 8-week team challenge-based intervention targeting increased physical activity was delivered at a petrochemical worksite. The purpose of this study was to examine men’s p...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Cherisse L. Seaton PhD, Joan L. Bottorff RN, PhD, Allison L. Soprovich RN, MPH, Steven T. Johnson PhD, Mitch J. Duncan PhD, Cristina M. Caperchione PhD, John L. Oliffe RN, PhD, Simon Rice PhD, Carole James DipCOT, BSc(OT), MHS(OT), Dean T. Eurich PhD
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2021-02-01
Series:American Journal of Men's Health
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988320988472
Description
Summary:The workplace provides an important delivery point for health promotion, yet many programs fail to engage men. A gender-sensitive 8-week team challenge-based intervention targeting increased physical activity was delivered at a petrochemical worksite. The purpose of this study was to examine men’s pre–post physical activity and sleep following the intervention, as well as to explore program acceptability and gather men’s recommendations for health promotion. Pre–post surveys assessed physical activity, sleep, program exposure, acceptability, and suggestions for continued support. Overall, 328 men completed baseline surveys and 186 (57%) completed follow-up surveys. Walking increased by 156.5 min/week, 95% confidence interval (61.2, 251.8), p = .001. Men with higher program exposure increased moderate and vigorous activity 49.4 min more than those with low exposure ( p = .026). Sleep duration and quality were higher postintervention, though changes were modest. Program acceptability was high as was intention to maintain physical activity. Men’s suggestions to enable physical activity involved workplace practices/resources, reducing workload, and leadership support. These findings suggest that a gender-sensitive physical activity workplace intervention showed promise for improving physical activity and sleep among men. The men’s suggestions reflected workplace health promotion strategies, reinforcing the need for employers to support ongoing health promotion efforts.
ISSN:1557-9891