Increasing Physical Activity in the Workplace

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Increasing Physical Activity in the Workplace
Cari Browning, CTRS/CHES Physical Activity
Coordinator Texas Department of State Health
Services
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Before we begin

• I represent employees that work mostly in
• Administrative service
• people work in office/on computers/in meetings
• Direct Service
• People report on location/their jobs may be
  demanding, they may work directly with clients,
  and they may be active/moving around all day
• Field Work
• People are rarely in office/the telecommute or
  are regional
• Manual Labor
• Peoples jobs include walking, bending, lifting,
  pushing etc

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During this presentation we will

• Briefly review what physical activity in the
  workplace means, why we focus on PA at the
  workplace and discuss the best way to effectively
  increase physical activity at work
• Participate in an activity/discussion to
  determine activities relative to your work
  environment and introduce you to others working
  in the same type of environment
• Discuss evidence-based and best practice
  strategies for physical activity in the workplace
  (PSE)

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What does Physical Activity in the workplace
mean?
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What does Physical Activityin the workplace mean?

• It means that our goal is to
• Create a culture that supports active living
• Reduce sedentary behavior
• Provide opportunities for people to move
  (mod/vigorous PA for 10min bouts and up)

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Physical Activity (PA) Guidelines

• Adults
• 150 minutes (2.5 hours) per week
  moderate-intensity aerobic PA
• OR
• 75 minutes (1.25 hours) per week
  vigorous-intensity aerobic PA
• OR
• Equivalent combination MVPA
• Moderate-high intensity muscle-strengthening PA
  at least twice a week (all major muscle groups)

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Why? Our employer supports our health See
HB1297
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Why? Because its an effective public health
strategy

• People spend a lot of time at work!
• We have opportunity to support adults to be
  physically active on the way to work, at work,
  and after work
• Work is a place of social influence,
  communication and information sharing

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Physical Activity levels explained
Physical activity  Any bodily movement that
results in energy expenditure. Exercise 
Planned, structured, and repetitive physical
activity designed to target a particular outcome
(such as physical fitness).
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What exercise at work may look like
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Ways to increase activity at work
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To effectively increase physical activity at
work Do this

• Build support and find champions
• Assess resources, survey staff and inform
• Complete PA assessment
• Survey your staff
• Explore resources
• Implement, monitor, evaluate and inform
• Understand the Diffusion of Innovation Theory

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KEY RESOURCE!

• Step 1 Build Support
• Step 2 Plan and Assess
• Step 3 Promote
• Step 4 Implement
• Step 5 Evaluate
• Step 6 Share Results
• Step 7 Sustain

http//www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/hwi/toolkits/pa-t
oolkit.htm
Also look at http//www.cdc.gov/nationalhealt
hyworksite/join/toolkit.html
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TRIVIA TIME

• How should we increase opportunities for physical
  activity and reduce sedentary behavior in the
  workplace?

1. Create programs and challenges at work that will
   encourage staff to be active
2. Get leadership support for employees to be active
   and have their support demonstrated in policies,
   procedures and practice (i.e.- flex time to
   exercise)
3. Put information about PA in a newsletter, hang
   information around the building and create tag
   lines for people to put in email
4. Have onsite facilities for exercise with locker
   rooms and showers and/or discounted opportunities
   for people to workout outside of work

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Think PSE for Physical Activity
Policy 1. a course or principle of action
adopted or proposed by a government, party,
business, or individual
System 1. a set of connected things or parts
forming a complex whole, in particular. 2. a set
of principles or procedures according to which
something is done an organized scheme or method
Environment 1. the surroundings or conditions
in which a person, animal, or plant lives or
operates.
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What is policy and who creates policies?

• Policies
• Are laws, regulations, rules, protocols, and
  procedures designed to guide or influence
  behavior
• Can either be legislative or organizational in
  nature
• Often mandate environmental changes and increase
  the likelihood that they will become
  institutionalized or sustainable

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What is a system? Who influences systems at
work?

• Systems
• Impact all elements, including social norms of an
  organization, institution, or system
• May include a policy or environmental change
  strategy
• Policies are often the driving force behind
  systems change

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What does the environment at work have to do
with people being active?

• Environments
• encompass physical, social, or economic factors
  designed to influence peoples practices and
  behaviors. Examples
• Physical Structural changes or the presence of
  programs or services, including improvements in
  the built environment to promote walking (e.g.,
  walking paths).
• Social Attitudes or behavior about policies that
  promote health or an increase in supportive
  attitudes regarding a health practice, including
  an increase in acceptance of physical activity
  and nonacceptance of sedentary behavior at the
  workplace.

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TRIVIA TIME

• Identify these the policy, system and environment
  activities below.
• Create programs and challenges at work that will
  encourage staff to be active
• Get leadership support for employees to be active
  and have their support demonstrated in policies,
  procedures and practice (i.e.- flex time to
  exercise)
• Put information about PA in a newsletter, hang
  information around the building and create tag
  lines for people to put in email
• Have onsite facilities for exercise with locker
  rooms and showers and/or discounted opportunities
  for people to workout outside of work

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PSE examples

• It may be easier than you think!!

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State Employees Health Fitnessand Education
HB1297

• Sec. 664.061.  AGENCY WELLNESS POLICIES.  A state
  agency may
• (1)  allow each employee 30 minutes during
  normal working hours for exercise three times
  each week
• (2)  allow all employees to attend on-site
  wellness seminars when offered and
• (3)  provide eight hours of additional leave
  time each year to an employee who
• (A)  receives a physical examination and
• (B)  completes either an online health risk
  assessment tool provided by the board or a
  similar health risk assessment conducted in
  person by a worksite wellness coordinator.
• Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 665,
  Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2007.
• For full text of HB1297 and Section 664, see
  www.wellness.state.tx.us/HB1297Lt.pdf

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State Employees Health Fitnessand
Education HB1297

• Sec. 664.053.  CREATION OF MODEL PROGRAM
• The wellness program may include
• 4)  the development and promotion of
  environmental change strategies that integrate
  healthy behaviors and physical activity,
  including recommending healthy food choices in
  snack bars, vending machines, and state-run
  cafeterias located in state buildings and
• (5)  optional incentives to encourage
  participation in the wellness program, including
  providing flexibility in employee scheduling to
  allow for physical activity and participation in
  the wellness program
• Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 665,
  Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2007.
• For full text of HB1297 and Section 664, see
  www.wellness.state.tx.us/HB1297Lt.pdf

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Policy and procedure improvements

• Meeting protocol
• Permission/Freedom to stand at meetings
• Implement activity breaks for meetings more than
  one hour
• Walking meetings

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Policy and procedure improvements

• Approve sit/stand workstations
• Provide flexible work arrangements or break times
  for physical activity (we would for PT!)

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Policy and procedure improvements

• Consider resources around and in your office that
  can support people to be active and aware of a
  culture of health
• Joint Use Agreements
• Work with internal or external partners to
  provide exercise classes on site (before, after,
  or during work)
• Work with community groups and partners to use
  trails or facilities to increase usage and
  awareness
• Subsidize transportation options

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System change and improvements

• Consider how people get to work and around town
  after work
• Encourage use of non-motorized vehicles
  (walk/bike) to location
• Alter rewards using carrot and stick method
• Biking/Walking verse Driving

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Systems change and improvements

• Consider systems during work
• Encourage moving breaks and people to bring
  exercise equipment to work (hand weights etc.)
• Support employees, clubs or groups to encourage
  physical activity among employees
• Provide a series of educational seminars,
  workshops or classes on physical activity

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Systems change and improvements

• Consider systems after work
• Provide access to offsite workout facility or
  subsidizing cost
• Provide direct support (i.e. money, land,
  pavilion, recreation facilities, sponsorship,
  advertising) for supporting community-wide
  physical activity opportunities (sports teams,
  walking clubs)

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Environmental Changes/Improvements

• What environmental changes can promote physical
  activity?
• Point-of-Decision Prompts
• http//www.eatsmartmovemorenc.com/Worksites/Toolki
  t/WsTk_MoveMore.html

• Promote stairwell use
• StairWELL to better health
• http//www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/hwi/toolkits/stai
  rwell/index.htm

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Environmental Changes/Improvements

• What environmental changes can promote physical
  activity?
• Space for exercise/access to onsite fitness
  center or gym
• lockers/showers
• Trails/maps (time and distance)
• Safe area for people to be active (lighting,
  signage, crime watch)

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Environmental Changes/Improvements

• What environmental changes canpromote physical
  activity?
• Enhance access to public transportation
• Bike racks/shelter

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What can you do at your location? And how will
you roll it out using PSE?

• LOW RESOURCES
• Company culture
• Flexible work hours
• Organized physical activity breaks
• Map out on-site trails or nearby walking routes
• Walk-and-talk meetings
• Stand up desks
• Post motivational signs at elevators to encourage
  stair use.
• Provide bicycle racks.
• MEDIUM RESOURCES
• Shower and/or changing facilities
• Outdoor exercise areas such as fields and trails.
• Recreation leagues and other physical activity
  events
• Employee activity clubs (e.g., walking,
  bicycling).
• Discounted memberships at local health clubs,
  YMCAs
• Incentive programs such as pedometer walking
  challenges.
• HIGH RESOURCES

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Resources

• OUR MANDATE
• For full text of HB1297 and Section 664, see
  www.wellness.state.tx.us/HB1297Lt.pdf
• A Case for Physical Activity Document
  www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/hwi/downloads/Steps2Well
  ness_the_case_for_phys_act.pdf
• PROCESS
• Steps to Wellness A guide to implementing the
  2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans
  in the Workplace http//www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/
  hwi/toolkits/pa-toolkit.htm
• ASSESSMENT
• NHW assessment http//www.cdc.gov/nationalhealthyw
  orksite/docs/Worksite_Health_Intervention_Strategi
  es_508.pdf
• www.cdc.gov/WorkplaceHealthPromotion
• CDC Worksite Scorecard- PA pages 22-23
  http//www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/pubs/docs/HSC_Manual.pdf
• Walkability Assessment http//www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/
  dnpao/hwi/toolkits/walkability/index.htm
• PHYSICAL ACTIVITY EVIDENCE BASED AND BEST
  PRACTICE RESOURCES
• CDC/NHW main page http//www.cdc.gov/nationalhealt
  hyworksite/index.html
• Stairwell info http//www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/hw
  i/toolkits/stairwell/other_ideas.htm
• Wellness Toolkit with Point of decision prompts-
  ready to use http//www.eatsmartmovemorenc.com/NCH
  ealthSmartTlkt/WorksiteTlkt.html
• How to lead a walking meeting
• http//www.feetfirst.org/walk-and-maps/walking-mee
  tings
• http//news.stanford.edu/news/2014/april/walking-v
  s-sitting-042414.html
• Stand up workstation information
  http//blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2012/12/05
  /sit-stand
• Neuhaus, M., Eakin, E. G., Straker, L., Owen, N.,
  Dunstan, D. W., Reid, N. and Healy, G. N. (2014),
  Reducing occupational sedentary time a
  systematic review and meta-analysis of evidence
  on activity-permissive workstations. Obesity
  Reviews, 15 822838. doi 10.1111/obr.12201

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Questions?
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Thank You!
Cari Browning, CTRS/CHES Physical Activity
Coordinator Primary Prevention Branch (512)
776-2610 cari.browning_at_dshs.state.tx.us