Author(s)

Scott J. Pedersen^1*, P. Dean Cooley², Casey P. Mainsbridge¹, Vaughan J. Cruickshank¹

¹Active Work Laboratory, College of Arts, Law, and Education, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Australia.
²Faculty of Education and Arts, Federation University, Ballarat, Australia.

Background: Sitting to perform desk-based work is considered to be a habit. To test this hypothesis, desk-based workers volunteered to be part of a yearlong pilot study utilising an e-health intervention designed to interrupt prolonged workplace sitting with movement breaks. Methods: Participants in a passive-prompt group had to engage with an e-health software programme on an hourly basis during work hours, while participants in an active-prompt group were allowed to postpone the prompt each hour. Daily adherence data and self-reported sitting habit strength were measured every 13 weeks for one year. A mixed design ANOVA was used to determine significant differences at the p < 0.05 level. Results: Passive-prompt participants reported significant improvements in reducing sitting habit strength over time, compared to active-prompt participants who actually reported increased sitting habit strength. Conclusions: This study provided preliminary evidence that changing desk-based workers’ sitting habits might be more difficult than previously estimated and that passive-based interventions could be one solution.

Workplace Health, Occupational Sitting, Habit Strength, E-Health Intervention

Pedersen, S. , Cooley, P. , Mainsbridge, C. and Cruickshank, V. (2018) A Longitudinal Look at Habit Strength as a Measure of Success in Decreasing Prolonged Occupational Sitting: An Evidence-Based Public Health Initiative. Open Journal of Safety Science and Technology, 8, 35-48. doi: 10.4236/ojsst.2018.82004.