An interventional study of Standing desk intervention and Waitlist control in Sedentary Lifestyle, sponsored by University of British Columbia. Completed at 1 site in Canada. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 64 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2018-12-04.
Sponsored by University of British Columbia · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
Research indicates that sedentary behaviours, such as prolonged sitting, have negative health consequences and increases risk for disease. Unfortunately, many office-workers spend a high proportion of their workday sitting, often in prolonged unbroken bouts. Recent interventions have provided active workstations (e.g., sit-stand desks) to reduce employee sitting. However, cost prohibits provision of these desks in work environments. There is a need for low-cost solutions to reduce sitting at work. The purpose of this study is to determine whether provision of a low-cost standing desk reduces workplace sitting, and results in improvements in work engagement and fatigue, compared to usual practice.
Study objectives: This study aims to provide a cost-effective solution to reducing sitting time during the workday, through provision of (1) low-cost cardboard standing desks ($20), and (2) simple behaviour change strategies (e.g., instruction on how to break up sitting time and information on the health consequences of doing so).
Background: Sedentary behaviour, defined as 'any waking behaviour characterised by an energy expenditure ≤1.5 metabolic equivalents while in a sitting, reclining, or lying posture', is a risk factor for poor health, independent of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). High levels of sedentary behaviour and excessive bouts of prolonged sitting is associated with increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.
Sedentary behaviours are prevalent among Canadian adults, who often spend a large proportion of their waking hours sitting (e.g., work, commuting, watching TV), and office workers have been identified as one of the most sedentary occupational groups. Sedentary behaviour can be reduced by replacing sitting time with standing or light ambulation. In order to do so, it is vital to create an environment that makes sitting less likely and standing/moving easier. There is some evidence that introduction of sit-stand desks can reduce occupational sitting time within office environments ; however, there are cost barriers to the provision of these desks in work environments and few randomized control trials have demonstrated the long-term compliance and effectiveness of these desks on health- (e.g., weight, waist circumference, blood-derived biomarkers, musculoskeletal symptoms, fatigue) and work-related (e.g., work performance/productivity) outcomes. These are important factors that need to be considered and studied in further detail to quantify the benefit of sit-stand workstations.
Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of a low-cost intervention aimed at reducing workplace sitting time in office workers.
Primary objectives:
Secondary objectives:
Methods/Design: The intervention will be delivered and evaluated over a 6-month period. This study is a two-arm randomized waitlist-controlled trial with one intervention group and one control group. After eligibility assessment, individuals will be randomly allocated to either the intervention or the control arm. The experimental group participants will receive a low-cost cardboard standing desk converter in their regular office environment and behaviour change strategies to break up sitting time, while the control group participants will not encounter any change to their regular work environments or be provided with any behaviour change strategies.
Intervention for experimental group:
Each participant allocated to the experimental group will receive a low-cost, cardboard, fixed-height standing desk converter (https://oristand.co/) that will be placed in their regular office environment, along with their usual sitting desk. The participants will be instructed on how to use the fixed-height standing desk converter (herein referred to as standing desk) as a way to break up sitting time every 30 minutes. In addition, each participant will be provided with information about the health benefits of breaking up sitting time.
Waitlist Control group:
Control group participants will not encounter any changes to their regular office environment. They will be provided with the standing desk and behaviour change strategies 6-months post-intervention.
1,273 studies on the registry are indexed under Sedentary Behavior; 300 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 48 is below the median of 60 across 1,076 interventional studies indexed under Sedentary Behavior.
Browse Sedentary Behavior studies →University of British Columbia is the lead sponsor of 1,339 studies on the registry; 259 are open to participants now.
Of its 6 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 1 (17%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Each participant allocated to the experimental group will receive a low-cost, cardboard, fixed-height standing desk converter (https://oristand.co/) that will be placed in their regular office environment, along with their usual sitting desk. The participants will be instructed on how to use the fixed-height standing desk converter (herein referred to as standing desk) as a way to break up sitting time every 30 minutes. In addition, each participant will be provided with information about the health benefits of breaking up sitting time.
Behavioral: Standing desk intervention
Control group participants will not encounter any changes to their regular office environment. They will be provided with the standing desk and behaviour change strategies 6-months post-intervention.
Behavioral: Waitlist control
Standing desk converter
Control
Reduction in sitting time
Daily minutes sitting time measured with an activPAL3 micro activity monitor
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months and 6 months
Reduced number of prolonged sitting bouts (>30 min)
Number of daily bouts of sitting (\>30 mins) measured with an activPAL3 micro activity monitor
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months and 6 months
Work engagement
Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). Work engagement will be measured using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), a 7-point likert scale ("never" \[0\]to "always" \[6\]). There are three sub-scales: vigour, dedication, and absorption. The mean scale score of the three UWES subscales is computed by adding the 3 scores on each particular scale and dividing the sum by the number of items of the subscale involved. A similar procedure is followed for the total score. Hence, the UWES yields three subscale scores and/or a total score that range between 0 and 6. Higher values reflect better outcomes.
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months and 6 months
Occupational fatigue
Need for Recovery (NFR) scale. Occupational fatigue will be measured using the 11-item Need for Recovery (NFR) scale. Indicators of fatigue assessed on the NFR scale include a lack of concentration and reduced motivation for activities at the end of the day. Participants are given dichotomous response options (yes/no) to answer whether or not they experience each indicator. The total number of indicators present for each individual is converted into a scale score which ranges from 0 to 100, where higher scores show a greater need for recovery and thereby greater short-term work-related fatigue.
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months and 6 months
Plan to share: No
Ran from Jan 2018 to primary completion in Sep 2018, 8 months.
Of 733 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Sedentary Behavior, half reached primary completion within 14 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 6 and three quarters within 31. This study's 8 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 741 studies reached it within 14 months; a quarter within 6 and three quarters within 31.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is completed, as verified in Dec 2018. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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