Effect of a nine-month web- and app-based workplace intervention to promote healthy lifestyle and weight loss for employees in the social welfare and health care sector: A randomized controlled trial

TY - JOUR

T1 - Effect of a nine-month web- and app-based workplace intervention to promote healthy lifestyle and weight loss for employees in the social welfare and health care sector

T2 - A randomized controlled trial

AU - Balk-Møller, Nina Charlotte

AU - Poulsen, Sanne Kellebjerg

AU - Larsen, Thomas Meinert

N1 - CURIS 2017 NEXS 115

PY - 2017/4

Y1 - 2017/4

N2 - Background: General health promoting campaigns are often not targeted at the people who need them the most. Web- and app-based tools are a new way to reach, motivate, and help people with poor health status. Objective: The aim of our study was to test a Web- and mobile app-based tool ("SoSu-life") on employees in the social welfare and health care sector in Denmark. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was carried out as a workplace intervention. The tool was designed to help users make healthy lifestyle changes such as losing weight, exercise more, and quit smoking. A team competition between the participating workplaces took place during the first 16 weeks of the intervention. Twenty nursing homes for elderly people in 6 municipalities in Denmark participated in the study. The employees at the nursing homes were randomized either 1:1 or 2:1 on a municipality level to use the SoSu-life tool or to serve as a control group with no intervention. All participants underwent baseline measurements including body weight, waist circumference, body fat percentage, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol level and they filled in a questionnaire covering various aspects of health. The participants were measured again after 16 and 38 weeks. Results: A total of 566 (SoSu-life: n=355, control: n=211) participants were included in the study. At 16 weeks there were 369 participants still in the study (SoSu-life: n=227, control: n=142) and 269 participants completed the 38 week intervention (SoSu-life: n=152, control: n=117). At 38 weeks, the SoSu-life group had a larger decrease in body weight (-1.01 kg, P=.03), body fat percentage (-0.8%, P=.03), and waist circumference (-1.8 cm, P=.007) compared with the control group. Conclusions: The SoSu-life Web- and app-based tool had a modest yet beneficial effect on body weight and body fat percentage in the health care sector staff.

AB - Background: General health promoting campaigns are often not targeted at the people who need them the most. Web- and app-based tools are a new way to reach, motivate, and help people with poor health status. Objective: The aim of our study was to test a Web- and mobile app-based tool ("SoSu-life") on employees in the social welfare and health care sector in Denmark. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was carried out as a workplace intervention. The tool was designed to help users make healthy lifestyle changes such as losing weight, exercise more, and quit smoking. A team competition between the participating workplaces took place during the first 16 weeks of the intervention. Twenty nursing homes for elderly people in 6 municipalities in Denmark participated in the study. The employees at the nursing homes were randomized either 1:1 or 2:1 on a municipality level to use the SoSu-life tool or to serve as a control group with no intervention. All participants underwent baseline measurements including body weight, waist circumference, body fat percentage, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol level and they filled in a questionnaire covering various aspects of health. The participants were measured again after 16 and 38 weeks. Results: A total of 566 (SoSu-life: n=355, control: n=211) participants were included in the study. At 16 weeks there were 369 participants still in the study (SoSu-life: n=227, control: n=142) and 269 participants completed the 38 week intervention (SoSu-life: n=152, control: n=117). At 38 weeks, the SoSu-life group had a larger decrease in body weight (-1.01 kg, P=.03), body fat percentage (-0.8%, P=.03), and waist circumference (-1.8 cm, P=.007) compared with the control group. Conclusions: The SoSu-life Web- and app-based tool had a modest yet beneficial effect on body weight and body fat percentage in the health care sector staff.

KW - Journal Article

U2 - 10.2196/jmir.6196

DO - 10.2196/jmir.6196

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 28396303

SN - 1439-4456

VL - 19

JO - Journal of Medical Internet Research

JF - Journal of Medical Internet Research

IS - 4

M1 - e108

ER -