ISRCTN ISRCTN10967042
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN10967042
Secondary identifying numbers N/A
Submission date
23/01/2015
Registration date
02/02/2015
Last edited
21/09/2020
Recruitment status
No longer recruiting
Overall study status
Completed
Condition category
Injury, Occupational Diseases, Poisoning
Prospectively registered
Protocol
Statistical analysis plan
Results
Individual participant data

Plain English Summary

Background and study aims
Excessive sitting is bad for health. Modern society provides many opportunities to sit and we have engineered much physical activity out of our lives. Previous generations sat less because they engaged in less TV viewing, no computer use, less car travel, and less work-related sitting. Changing sitting time by providing an environment that makes sitting less likely and standing/moving easier could have significant health benefits. A good place to start this cultural shift is in the workplace because many jobs are desk-bound. The aim in this study is to assess the effectiveness of providing sit-stand desks that allow workers to stand or sit while working at a computer.

Who can participate?
NHS workforce, aged 18–70 years old

What does the study involve?
Self-contained buildings or blocks will be randomly assigned to the intervention or control arm. People in the intervention arm will receive height-adjustable sit-stand desks and behaviour-change techniques and strategies to help reduce sedentary behaviour. People in the control arm will not receive any of the behaviour-change intervention strategies nor the sit-stand desk. We will assess, after 3 months, 6 months and 12 months, whether the study reduced sitting time and improved employee health, job satisfaction and engagement, job performance, absenteeism, what worked well or not, and what can be done better in the future to sustain changes in behaviour.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Benefits not provided at time of registration. Risks not provided at time of registration.

Where is the study run from?
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UK)

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
October 2014 to January 2018

Who is funding the study?
Department of Health (UK)

Who is the main contact?
Dr Ben Jackson
b.r.jackson@lboro.ac.uk

Contact information

Dr Fehmidah Munir
Public

School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences
Loughborough University
Loughborough
LE11 3TU
United Kingdom

Phone +44 (0)1509 228 228
Email f.munir@lboro.ac.uk
Dr Fehmidah Munir
Scientific

School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences
Loughborough University
Loughborough
LE11 3TU
United Kingdom

Phone +44 (0)1509 228 228
Email f.munir@lboro.ac.uk
Dr Sophie O'Connell
Public

Leicester Diabetes Centre
Leicester General Hospital
Leicester
LE5 4PW
United Kingdom

Phone +44 (0)116 258 8571
Email sophie.oconnell@uhl-tr.nhs.uk

Study information

Study designCluster randomised controlled trial
Primary study designInterventional
Secondary study designCluster randomised trial
Study setting(s)Hospital
Study typePrevention
Participant information sheet Not available in web format, please use the contact details below to request a patient information sheet.
Scientific titleEffectiveness of a behaviour-change intervention with sit-stand desks on NHS desk-based staff’s sitting time and associated factors (SMArT Work): a cluster randomised controlled trial
Study acronymSMArT
Study hypothesisThe provision of sit-to-stand workstations and supporting strategies aimed at promoting
reduced sitting will increase standing and movement over the long term (12 months) in office-based National Health Service (NHS) staff, reduce absenteeism, improve job performance, increase job satisfaction and work engagement, reduce occupational fatigue, improve musculoskeletal health, improve mood/affective states and improve quality of life.
Ethics approval(s)Ethics Approvals (Human Participants) Sub-Committee, Loughborough University (UK), 03/09/2014, Ref: SSEHS 1751
ConditionSedentary behaviour and associated conditions (e.g., musculoskeletal health)
Intervention1. A cluster randomised controlled trial will be undertaken at three University Hospitals of Leicester (UK; Leicester General Hospital, Leicester Royal Infirmary and Glenfield General Hospital), with the unit of randomisation being at the level of each self-contained building or block.
2. The intervention arm will receive height-adjustable sit-stand desks and an array of behaviour-change techniques and strategies to help reduce sedentary behaviour (e.g., prompts, self-monitoring and education) identified using the Behaviour Change Wheel (Michie et al, 2011).
3. Control arm will not receive any of the behaviour-change intervention strategies nor the sit-stand desk; control sites will have limited opportunity to substantially increase their standing activity during working hours
Intervention typeBehavioural
Primary outcome measureLong-term (12 months) changes: objectively measured sedentary behaviour at baseline, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months using self-monitoring devices (including LumoBack, GeneActive and ActivPAL) worn by participants
Secondary outcome measures1. Change in sedentary behaviour over the short term (3 months and 6 months) measured objectively
2. Absenteeism (using employment records)
3. Job performance
4. Job satisfaction
5. Work engagement
6. Occupational fatigue
7. Musculoskeletal health
8. Mood/affective states
9. Quality of life (self assessment)
10. Cognitive ability (using experimental measures such as the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test, the Digit-Symbol Subsitition Test, and Stroop Test)

Secondary outcomes will be measured at baseline, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after the intervention
using a range of validated psychometric measures (occupational fatigue, musculoskeletal health, mood/affective states and quality of life), self-report (job performance, job satisfaction and work engagement), employer records (absenteeism) and experimental cognitive tasks (cognitive ability).
Overall study start date01/04/2015
Overall study end date31/12/2017

Eligibility

Participant type(s)Mixed
Age groupAdult
Lower age limit18 Years
SexBoth
Target number of participants18 clusters in each arm, with 136 participants in total.
Total final enrolment146
Participant inclusion criteria1. Health professionals
2. Healthy volunteers
3. Age 18–70 years old
4. Able to speak and read English
5. Willing and able to give full informed consent for themselves
6. NHS-office based, predominantly sedentary staff employed by the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
Participant exclusion criteria1. Younger than 18 years old or older than 70 years old
2. Unable to give informed consent
3. NHS staff not predominantly in office-based jobs
Recruitment start date31/10/2015
Recruitment end date30/06/2016

Locations

Countries of recruitment

  • England
  • United Kingdom

Study participating centre

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
Leicester
LE3 9QP
United Kingdom

Sponsor information

Loughborough University
University/education

Epinal Way
Loughborough
LE11 3TU
England
United Kingdom

Phone +44 (0)1509 222 222
Email ssehs-enquiries@lboro.ac.uk
Website www.lboro.ac.uk
ROR logo "ROR" https://ror.org/04vg4w365

Funders

Funder type

Government

Department of Health (UK)

No information available

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date31/10/2015
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to shareYes
IPD sharing plan summaryAvailable on request
Publication and dissemination plan1. We will likely publish our findings from the development phase of our study (focus groups to aid in the development of the intervention) at around month 12 of the study, whereas primary and secondary outcomes will be published at the end of the intervention phase.
2. We will also present our findings at academic conferences.
IPD sharing plan

Study outputs

Output type Details Date created Date added Peer reviewed? Patient-facing?
Protocol article protocol 09/12/2015 Yes No
Results article results 06/03/2018 Yes No
Results article results 10/10/2018 Yes No
Other publications process evaluation 13/05/2020 15/05/2020 Yes No
Other publications cost-benefit analysis 13/02/2020 21/09/2020 Yes No

Editorial Notes

21/09/2020: Publication reference and total final enrolment number added.
15/05/2020: Publication reference added.
12/10/2018: Publication reference added.
23/03/2018: The overall trial start date was changed from 22/10/2014 to 01/04/2015.
22/03/2018: The following changes have been made:
1. The recruitment start date was changed from 01/02/2015 to 31/10/2015.
2. The recruitment end date was changed from 31/12/2015 to 30/06/2016.
3. The overall trial end date was changed from 31/01/2018 to 31/12/2017.
4. The total target enrolment was changed from 238 to 136.
08/03/2018: Publication reference added.