A Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol for Using an Accelerometer-Smartphone Application Intervention to Increase Physical Activity and Improve Health among Employees in a Military Workplace

Abstract
Physical activity is beneficial for improving health and reducing sick leave absences. This article describes a protocol for an intervention using an interactive accelerometer smartphone application, telephone counselling, and physical activity recordings to increase the physical activity of workers in the military and improve their health. Under the protocol, employees from six military brigades in Finland will be randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The intervention group’s participants will use accelerometers to measure their daily physical activities and their quality of sleep for six months. They will receive feedback based on these measurements via a smartphone application. The intervention group’s participants will be encouraged to exercise for two hours per week during working hours, and to participate in telephone counselling. The control group’s participants will continue with their normal exercise routines, without the accelerometer or feedback. The participants of both groups will be measured at the baseline, after the intervention period, and six months after the end of the intervention. The measurements will include accelerometer recordings, biochemical laboratory tests, body composition measurements, physical fitness tests, and questionnaires on sociodemographic factors, physical activities, and health. The primary outcomes will indicate changes in physical activity, physical fitness, and sick leave absences. The findings will help to develop a straightforward and cost-effective model for supporting the health and working capabilities of employees in the military and other workplaces.
Main Authors
Format
Articles Research article
Published
2022
Series
Subjects
Publication in research information system
Publisher
MDPI AG
The permanent address of the publication
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202202071395Käytä tätä linkitykseen.
Review status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2409-9279
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/mps5010001
Language
English
Published in
Methods and Protocols
Citation
  • Pietiläinen, E., Kyröläinen, H., Vasankari, T., Santtila, M., Luukkaala, T., & Parkkola, K. (2022). A Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol for Using an Accelerometer-Smartphone Application Intervention to Increase Physical Activity and Improve Health among Employees in a Military Workplace. Methods and Protocols, 5(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.3390/mps5010001
License
CC BY 4.0Open Access
Additional information about funding
The study was funded by the Finnish Defence Forces Centre for Military Medicine BR12768, 3813/01.03.00/2019, the National Defence Support Foundation of Finland TELI/2020, and the Finnish Medical Society Duodecim TELI/2018.
Copyright© 2021 the Authors

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