Health promotion and preventive physiotherapy program for teachers in compulsory schools
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN92649087 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN92649087 |
| Secondary identifying numbers | N/A |
- Submission date
- 08/07/2011
- Registration date
- 04/08/2011
- Last edited
- 19/04/2017
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Musculoskeletal Diseases
Plain English Summary
Background and study aims
Physiotherapists should not only focus on treatment of disease, but also develop interventions and measures with regard to health promotion and prevention. Health promotion and prevention at school is already a well investigated area. The focus is generally on pupils’ health, but the health of teachers should also be an important aim. A study found that the health of teachers in Austrian schools was poor, and the most common complaints were low back pain, fatigue, exhaustion and neck/shoulder pain. 50.8 % of the teachers reported that they occasionally suffer from at least one of the mentioned complaints. Therefore posture and movement management programs seem to be a promising approach in health promotion and prevention programs for teachers. The aim of this study is to improve health-related quality of life and work-related behavior of teachers in schools in Austria by means of health promoting and preventive physiotherapy.
Who can participate?
Teachers aged between 20 and 63 at compulsory schools in Austria
What does the study involve?
Participating schools are randomly allocated to either the intervention group or the control group. The intervention group schools carry out a physiotherapy program over one academic semester (6 months), where teachers receive six 30-minute sessions of posture and movement training. The control group schools are offered a physiotherapy program after the study is finished. Health-related quality of life and work-related behavior patterns are measured at the beginning and the end of the semester.
When is study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
As this study focuses on health promotion and preventive physiotherapy no risks for participants are expected.
Who is funding the study?
1. Institute for Health Sciences, University of Applied Sciences of St. Pölten (Austria)
2. Local Government of St. Pölten (Austria)
Who is the main contact?
Prof. Astrid Figl-Hertlein
Astrid.Figl@fhstp.ac.at
Contact information
Scientific
Matthias-Corvinus-Straße 15
St. Pölten
3100
Austria
| Phone | +43 (0)676 847 228 581 |
|---|---|
| Astrid.Figl@fhstp.ac.at |
Study information
| Study design | Cluster randomized controlled study |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Cluster randomised trial |
| Study setting(s) | School |
| Study type | Prevention |
| Participant information sheet | Not available in web format, please use the contact details to request a patient information sheet |
| Scientific title | Effect of a health promoting posture and movement management at work on teachers' health-related quality of life and work related behavior: a randomized controlled study |
| Study hypothesis | The overall aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of a six-month health-promotion and preventive physiotherapy program (Posture and Movement Management) in the manner of an institutional and regulatory action in school for teachers on quality of live and work related behavior patterns. Specific research questions are: 1. Health promoting posture and movement management at work in the manner of an institutional and regulatory action in school influences the health-related quality of life (QOL) of school teachers in Austria. 2. Health promoting posture and movement management at work in the manner of an institutional and regulatory action in school influences the work related behavior of school teachers in Austria. |
| Ethics approval(s) | Ethics Committee of the Federal Government of Lower Austria, ref: GS4-EK-4/106-2010 |
| Condition | Musculoskeletal disorders (low back pain, fatigue, exhaustion and neck/shoulder pain) Study domain: Health promotion and prevention |
| Intervention | The health promoting posture and movement management for the intervention groups was a institutional and regulatory action at the working place (in this case at the schools). This institutional and regulatory action can be seen as a structural school-intern support of a health professional at work and therefore as a change of working conditions. A physiotherapist was responsible for all IG-schools over the period of one academic semester and therefore for the duration of this study. Teachers of the IG had the opportunity of receiving six times of comprehensive preventive posture and movement management for 30 minutes each session. This program included posture and movement training, counselling of coping strategies and ergonomics, exercises and body perception- and body experience-training. The program did not aim at any intervention in rehabilitation and therapy. Goal of this program was to offer strategies for healthy and ergonomic posture and movement during work. Further participants should be educated to use those strategies in their own way and life. This goal is in strong accordance to salutogeneses-model defined by Aaron Antonovsky and WHO health-policies, and therefore aims at strengthening personal capabilities for resisting stress. |
| Intervention type | Other |
| Primary outcome measure | 1. Health-related quality of life (SF-36 questionnaire) 2. Work related behavior patterns (AVEM questionnaire) The results will be measured at baseline (before intervention, the beginning of the semester) and after 6 months (end of the semester) |
| Secondary outcome measures | 1. Maslach Burnout Inventory (short form) 2. HBSC Symptom Checklist 3. IPAQ (International physical activity questionnaire) |
| Overall study start date | 01/12/2008 |
| Overall study end date | 31/01/2012 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Other |
|---|---|
| Age group | Adult |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 68 |
| Participant inclusion criteria | Adult teachers from compulsory schools in Austria of both sexes, aged between 20 and 63 years who were able to work |
| Participant exclusion criteria | Eligibility was not given when participants had chronic or acute psycho-neuro-motor disease, disabilities, fractures or when ability to work was not given |
| Recruitment start date | 01/12/2008 |
| Recruitment end date | 31/01/2012 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- Austria
Study participating centre
3100
Austria
Sponsor information
Government
Matthias-Corvinus-Straße 15
St. Pölten
3100
Austria
| Website | http://www.fhstp.ac.at |
|---|---|
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/039a2re55 |
Funders
Funder type
University/education
No information available
No information available
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | No |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Not provided at time of registration |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Not provided at time of registration |
| IPD sharing plan |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results article | results | 01/03/2014 | Yes | No |
Editorial Notes
19/04/2017: Plain English summary added.
