Background
Methods
Walking Works Programme
Data collection
Workplace | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Region | North East | East Midlands | Yorkshire | West Midlands | London |
Type | Further education institution | Private organisation | NHS organisation | County Council | Higher education institution |
Dates of baseline survey | Start: 07–12-09 End: 16–12-09 | Start: 20–04-10 End: 10–05-10 | Start: 19–01-10 End: 10–03-10 | Start: 14–05-10 End: 25–06-10 | Start: 02–02-10 End: 02–03-10 |
Total number of employees (baseline) | 400 | 1734 | 1778 | 1100 | 500 |
Number of employees (%) completing baseline survey | 98 (25%) | 653 (38%) | 285 (16%) | 434 (39%) | 74 (15%) |
Dates of follow-up survey | Start: 12–09-11 End: 04–10-11 | Start: 02–11-11 End: 28–11-11 | Start: 16–09-11 End: 07–11-11 | Start: 29–09-11 End: 20–10-11 | Start: 05–09-11 End: 10–10-11 |
Total number of employees (follow-up) | 400 | 1729 | 300 | 1100 | 500 |
Number of employees (%) completing follow-up survey | 144 (36%) | 587 (34%) | 59 (20%) | 103 (9%) | 25 (5%) |
Workplace recruitment to intervention | Lead organisation contacted the walking champion to discuss taking part through a local travel plan contact. | Lead organisation promoted the intervention through a travel planning network. The walking champion expressed interest in taking part. | Lead organisation contacted the walking champion to ask for suggestions for other workplaces to take part. Workplace keen to take part themselves. | Heard about Walking Works through lead organisation’s website and contacted them. | Walking champion was referred through lead organisation’s member of staff not involved in the intervention. |
Reasons for participation | The programme supported work on health and staff retention agendas, in particular looking at how to get people to and from work following move to multiple sites with restricted parking. | The programme supported work on health and travel agendas. Workplace looking for ways to help people become less dependent on cars and support mileage and carbon reduction targets. | The programme supported work on health and travel agendas. Particularly looking at ways to reduce carbon footprint and promote active travel across the workplace and their partners. | The programme linked to walking champion core role in sustainable travel. | The programme supported walking champion in core role to improve environmental performance of workplace. Also compatible with health and travel agendas: reducing environmental impact, carbon footprint and increasing staff awareness of these issues. |
Links to existing workplace policy, strategy and programmes | Linked to workplace’s health at work policy and the strategic direction of the workplace to employ and retain the best staff. Strategy in place to ensure co-ordinated approach to travel planning; each site has a travel plan including a communication strategy to inform employees of alternatives to using car. Fitted with workplace’s existing health and well-being programme. | Programme linked to sustainable travel and well-being agendas across the workplace. | Linked to workplace health policy and sustainable travel plans and aspiration of workplace to be a local leader in health and healthy transport. | Linked to the sustainable travel agenda. | Programme linked to staff travel plans and health and well-being agendas. |
Activities delivered | • Walk to Work Week 2010 and 2011 • Mince Pie Calculator promotiona (Christmas 2010) • Led lunchtime walks • Alternatives to the car – staff conference (June 2010) • Fit Campaign – existing initiative (including walking) | • Walk to Work Week 2011 • Mince Pie Calculator promotiona (Christmas 2010) • Unleash Your Office Animal quiz promotionb (Summer 2010) • Photo competitionc (Spring 2011) | • Mince Pie Calculator promotiona (Christmas 2009 and 2010) • Lunchtime led walks • New Year, New You staff travel days promotions (Jan-Feb 2010 and 2011) • Best Foot Forward pedometer challenge (April–May 2010 and May–June 2011) | • Walk to Work Week 2011 • Lunchtime led walks • Autumn pedometer challenge (October 2010) • Winter Warmers (Winter 2010) • Walking talk and quiz (February 2011) | • Walk to Work Week 2010 and 2011 • Lunchtime walks 2010 • Walking Works campaign launch lunch and walk • Walking champions meeting (Spring 2010) • Summer Social Walk 2010 • Foot pamper day (Sept 2011) |
n (%) unaware of programme | 20 (13.9%) | 379 (64.6%) | 11 (18.6%) | 20 (19.4%) | 8 (32.0%) |
n (%) aware of programme (no participation) | 62 (43.1%) | 119 (20.3%) | 12 (20.3%) | 61 (59.2%) | 5 (20.0%) |
n (%) participated in programme(aware and participated in at least 1 activity) | 62 (43.1%) | 89 (15.2%) | 36 (61.0%) | 22 (21.4%) | 12 (48.0%) |
Frequency of participation n (%) | 0 activities = 82 (56.9%) 1 activity = 28 (19.4%) 2 activities = 24 (16.7%) 3 activities = 3 (2.1%) 4 activities = 2 (1.4%) >5 activities = 5 (3.5%) | 0 activities = 498 (84.8%) 1 activity = 76 (12.9%) 2 activities = 8 (1.4%) 3 activities = 5 (0.9%) 4 activities = 0 (0.0%) >5 activities = 0 (0.0%) | 0 activities = 23 (39.0%) 1 activity = 17 (28.8%) 2 activities = 10 (16.9%) 3 activities = 4 (6.8%) 4 activities = 2 (3.4%) >5 activities = 3 (5.1%) | 0 activities = 81 (78.6%) 1 activity = 17 (16.5%) 2 activities = 3 (2.9%) 3 activities = 1 (1.0%) 4 activities = 1 (1.0%) >5 activities = 0 (0.0%) | 0 activities = 13 (52.0%) 1 activity = 3 (12.0%) 2 activities = 3 (12.0%) 3 activities = 1 (4.0%) 4 activities = 3 (12.0%) >5 activities = 2 (8.0%) |
RE-AIM evaluation
Indicator | Data source |
---|---|
Reach | |
An individual measure of participation and participant characteristics along with an assessment of representativeness of participants compared to non-participants.
| |
• Awareness and participation in walking activities | Follow-up survey |
• Differences between respondents based on awareness and participation in intervention activities for: | Follow-up survey |
- individual characteristics (e.g. gender, age, ethnic group) | |
- work-related characteristics (e.g. distance lived from work, occupation, physical activity at work) | |
- meeting physical activity recommendations | |
- usual mode of travel to work | |
- time spent walking on the journey to/from work | |
- time spent walking during the working day | |
Effectiveness | |
Individual measures of the positive and negative consequences of the programme including behavioural, quality of life and participant satisfaction outcomes.
| |
• Usual mode of travel to work | Baseline and follow-up survey |
• Time spent walking for some or all of the journey to/from work | Baseline and follow-up survey |
• Time spent walking during the working day | Baseline and follow-up survey |
• Perceived change in frequency of walking to and from work in the last 18 months | Follow-up survey |
• Perceived change in frequency of walking during the lunch break in the last 18 months | Follow-up survey |
• Perceived change in frequency of walking at work in the last 18 months | Follow-up survey |
• Perceived benefits to physical activity levels and health | Follow-up survey |
Adoption | |
Organisational measures of the proportion and representativeness of settings that adopt the programme and barriers to adoption.
| |
• Number of workplaces recruited | Lead organisation co-ordinator interview |
• Characteristics of workplaces recruited | Walking champion interviews |
Implementation | |
Organisational measures of the extent to which the programme is delivered as intended; individual measures of participant adherence.
| |
• Organisational and senior management support | Walking champion interviews Business representative interviews |
• Delivery of the intervention as intended including use of walking champions and planning and delivery of walking activities. | Lead organisation co-ordinator interview Walking champion interviews Business representative interviews |
• Participant adherence (number of activities participants took part in) | Follow-up survey |
• Perceptions of intervention activities | Follow-up survey |
• Perceived encouragement for walking on the journey to and from work | Follow-up survey |
• Perceived encouragement for walking during the working day | Follow-up survey |
• Likes and dislikes of intervention activities and suggestions for improvement | Follow-up survey |
Maintenance | |
Assessment of long term maintenance of change at the individual level (sustained change in behaviour) and at the organisational level (the extent to which the programme becomes routine/embedded in the everyday culture and norms of an organisation).
| |
• Plans for the sustainability of the intervention activities | Walking champion interviews Business representative interviews |
• Confidence to include some walking as part of the journey to or from work on most days | Follow-up survey |
• Intention to walk to work on a regular basis in the next few months | Follow-up survey |
• Encouragement needed to walk all or some of the journey to and from work | Follow-up survey |
• Encouragement needed to walk during the working day | Follow-up survey |
Reach
Effectiveness
Walking to and from work
Walking during the working day
Mediators of behaviour change
Perceived impact of programme activities
Adoption
Implementation
Maintenance
Data analyses
Results
Adoption
Reach
Characteristic | Unaware of programme activities | Aware of programme activities | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
n = 438 |
n = 480 | ||||
na
| % | na
| % |
p
| |
Gender | |||||
Female | 202 | 60.3 | 324 | 69.4 |
0.008
|
Age (years) | |||||
16–30 | 121 | 36.7 | 126 | 27.5 |
<0.001
|
31–44 | 144 | 43.6 | 187 | 40.8 | |
≥ 45 | 65 | 19.7 | 145 | 31.7 | |
Ethnicity | |||||
White | 300 | 90.1 | 430 | 93.3 | 0.132 |
Highest educational qualification | |||||
University degree | 97 | 30.9 | 226 | 51.4 |
<0.001
|
Higher education/certificate | 34 | 10.8 | 55 | 12.5 | |
GCE ‘A’ Level | 97 | 30.9 | 95 | 21.6 | |
GCSE Grades A to C | 86 | 27.4 | 64 | 14.5 | |
Distance live from work | |||||
≤ 2 miles | 62 | 15.2 | 93 | 19.5 | 0.263 |
2.1–5 miles | 120 | 29.4 | 129 | 27.0 | |
5.1–10 miles | 125 | 30.6 | 129 | 27.0 | |
> 10 miles | 101 | 24.8 | 126 | 26.4 | |
Occupation | |||||
Senior or Middle Manager | 61 | 17.9 | 89 | 18.9 |
<0.001
|
Professional occupation | 33 | 9.7 | 134 | 28.5 | |
Clerical | 237 | 69.5 | 236 | 50.2 | |
Working hours | |||||
Full-time | 264 | 77.4 | 373 | 79.9 | 0.399 |
Part-time | 77 | 22.6 | 94 | 20.1 | |
Work-related physical activity | |||||
Sitting occupation | 399 | 95.2 | 414 | 87.0 |
<0.001
|
Physical activity levels | |||||
Meeting current recommendationsb
| 87 | 26.0 | 94 | 20.1 | 0.051 |
Usual mode of travel to work | |||||
Walking only (≥10 min) | 41 | 10.6 | 44 | 9.5 | 0.114 |
Walking (≥10 min) and other mode | 82 | 21.2 | 101 | 21.7 | |
Cycling | 8 | 2.1 | 20 | 4.3 | |
Public transport | 27 | 7.0 | 18 | 3.9 | |
Motorised transport | 229 | 59.2 | 282 | 60.6 | |
Walking to/from work | |||||
0 min per week | 156 | 49.8 | 187 | 49.7 | 0.473 |
1–100 min per week | 62 | 19.8 | 87 | 23.1 | |
> 100 min per week | 95 | 30.4 | 102 | 27.1 | |
Walking at work | |||||
0 min per day | 95 | 36.1 | 81 | 25.6 |
0.013
|
1–30 min per day | 112 | 42.6 | 144 | 45.6 | |
> 30 min per day | 56 | 21.3 | 91 | 28.8 |
Implementation
Organisational and senior management support
Use of walking champions
Planning and delivery of walking activities
Participation, adherence and participant perspectives
Effectiveness
Baseline | Follow-up | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
% (n) | % (n) | p | ||
Usual mode of transport to and from work | Motorised transport | 61.0 (860) | 60.0 (511) | 0.461 |
Public transport | 3.8 (54) | 5.3 (45) | ||
Cycling | 3.3 (47) | 3.3 (28) | ||
Walking (≥10 min and other mode) | 20.6 (290) | 21.5 (183) | ||
Walking only (≥10 min) | 11.2 (158) | 10.0 (85) | ||
% (n) | % (n) | p | ||
Time spent walking to and from work | 0 min per week | 50.6 (602) | 49.8 (343) | 0.799 |
1–100 min per week | 22.2 (264) | 21.6 (149) | ||
>100 min per week | 27.2 (323) | 28.6 (197) | ||
Time spent walking during the working day | 0 min per day | 26.8 (276) | 30.4 (176) | 0.100 |
1–30 min per day | 43.1 (443) | 44.2 (256) | ||
>30 min per day | 30.1 (309) | 25.4 (147) | ||
Incidental walking | % most/every day (n) | % most/every day (n) | p | |
Climb stairs instead of using lift | 74.1 (1044) | 74.9 (655) | 0.652 | |
Walk to talk to colleague | 58.9 (860) | 59.6 (529) | 0.749 | |
Walk for at least 10 min to get to a business meeting | 12.8 (170) | 13.3 (108) | 0.747 | |
Take part in a walking meeting | 1.2 (15) | 1.3 (10) | 0.883 | |
Walk for at least 10 min at lunchtime | 39.2 (579) | 30.7 (272) |
<0.001
| |
Mediators of behaviour change | % agree (n) | % agree (n) | p | |
Confidence to include some walking as part of my journey to or from work on most days | 50.5 (694) | 53.7 (453) | 0.135 | |
Intention to walk for all or part of my journey to or from work on a regular basis in the next few months | 41.5 (564) | 42.3 (354) | 0.714 | |
Colleague support in the last month | % often/very often (n) | % often/very often (n) | p | |
Walking for some or all of the journey to or from work | 4.3 (61) | 5.8 (50) | 0.110 | |
Holding a walking meeting | 0.9 (13) | 1.5 (13) | 0.201 | |
Going for a walk at lunchtime | 14.8 (208) | 15.6 (133) | 0.638 |
Non-participants | Participants | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
% (n) | % (n) | p | ||
Usual mode of transport to and from work | Motorised transport | 61.3 (391) | 56.1 (120) | 0.160 |
Public transport | 5.8 (37) | 3.7 (8) | ||
Cycling | 2.8 (18) | 4.7 (10) | ||
Walking (≥10 min and other mode) | 21.2 (135) | 22.4 (48) | ||
Walking only (≥10 min) | 8.9 (57) | 13.1 (28) | ||
% (n) | % (n) | p | ||
Time spent walking to and from work | 0 min per week | 51.5 (261) | 45.1 (82) | 0.152 |
1–100 min per week | 21.9 (111) | 20.9 (38) | ||
>100 min per week | 26.6 (135) | 34.1 (62) | ||
Time spent walking during the working day | 0 min per day | 32.5 (139) | 24.5 (37) | 0.060 |
1–30 min per day | 44.4 (190) | 43.7 (66) | ||
>30 min per day | 23.1 (99) | 31.8 (48) | ||
Incidental walking | % most/every day (n) | % most/every day (n) | p | |
Climb stairs instead of using lift | 73.2 (487) | 80.4 (168) |
0.037
| |
Walk to talk to colleague | 59.6 (399) | 59.6 (130) | 0.983 | |
Walk for at least 10 min to get to a business meeting | 11.9 (71) | 17.5 (37) |
0.037
| |
Take part in a walking meeting | 1.2 (7) | 1.5 (3) | 0.710 | |
Walk for at least 10 min at lunchtime | 30.1 (201) | 32.3 (71) | 0.551 | |
Mediators of behaviour change | % agree (n) | % agree (n) | p | |
Confidence to include some walking as part of my journey to or from work on most days | 52.0 (326) | 58.8 (127) | 0.084 | |
Intention to walk for all or part of my journey to or from work on a regular basis in the next few months | 39.7 (247) | 49.8 (107) |
0.010
| |
Colleague support in the last 18 months | % often/very often (n) | % often/very often (n) | p | |
Walking for some or all of the journey to or from work | 4.5 (29) | 9.6 (21) |
0.006
| |
Holding a walking meeting | 0.9 (6) | 3.2 (7) |
0.019
| |
Going for a walk at lunchtime | 14.8 (94) | 17.9 (39) | 0.271 | |
Perceived changes in the last 18 months | % agreed (n) | % agreed (n) | p | |
Walked for all or part of the journey to and from work more often | 34.6 (217) | 46.3 (101) |
0.002
| |
Walked during the lunch break more often | 50.8 (316) | 64.8 (140) |
<0.001
| |
Walked at other times during the working day more often | 49.2 (300) | 61.0 (130) |
0.003
|