Routines to Enhance Active Lifestyles (REAL) Projects: A Pilot Program to Promote Incidental Physical Activity
Abstract
Engaging in different types of incidental physical activity of daily living (e.g., walking to school or stair climbing) could contribute to individuals leading more active lifestyles by improving their total physical activity levels and reducing rates of inactivity. Particularly, post-secondary students are highly inactive and innovative strategies are needed to encourage them to be more active. The overall purpose of this research program was to explore the use of evidence-informed and tailor-made point-of-choice prompts to promote active transportation and staircase use among university students. Study 1 employed focus groups to determine the most suitable health messages and designs to create point-of-choice prompts for promoting active transportation and staircase use that would appeal to undergraduate students. Study 2 included an online questionnaire to assess students’ awareness, impact, and feedback regarding the suitability of utilizing active transportation-promoting point-of-choice prompts at transit hubs on campus. Study 3 incorporated a pre-post study design to examine the influence of a multi-component poster-based intervention to promote stair climbing at a campus library.
The results of Study 1 indicated that undergraduate students preferred simple point-of-choice prompt designs with tailored messages. Additionally, students from the focus groups had diverse lifestyle-based values associated with physical activity and their participation in activities were affected by uncontrollable factors (e.g., time, built environment, and weather). Study 2 determined that approximately 41% of respondents were aware of the prompts, with awareness levels being associated with the distribution and the design of the displays. Although students assessed them as suitable, the prompts did not impact the transportation choices of the majority of respondents who saw them. The findings from Study 3 indicated that the frequency of stair climbing on weekdays was significantly higher during the intervention and follow-up periods compared to the baseline period. This effect was not found on weekends. The overall increase stair climbing rate observed in this study (2.5%) is similar to previous research using point-of-choice prompts only.
In conclusion, the findings from these studies helped to determine the extent to which tailored and strategically-placed point-of-choice prompts aid to increase levels of active transportation and stair climbing on a university campus.