Protocol for a cluster randomised waitlist-controlled trial of a goal-based behaviour change intervention for employees in workplaces enrolled in health and wellbeing initiatives

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 18; no. 9; p. e0282848
• Main Authors: Alidu, Lailah, Al-Khudairy, Lena, Bharatan, Ila, Bird, Paul, Campbell, Niyah, Currie, Graeme, Hemming, Karla, Jolly, Kate, Kudrna, Laura, Lilford, Richard, Martin, James, Quinn, Laura, Schmidtke, Kelly Ann, Yates, James
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 28.09.2023; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Context; Critical care; Data collection; Drive; Effectiveness; Employees; Evaluation; Goal setting; Goals; Health Behavior; Health care; Humans; Intervention; Local government; Medical policy; Medicine and Health Sciences; Motivation; Occupational health and safety; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Research and Analysis Methods; Social Sciences; Study Protocol; Systematic Reviews as Topic; Workplace; Workplaces; United Kingdom; United Kingdom > UK
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282848

Many workplaces offer health and wellbeing initiatives to their staff as recommended by international and national health organisations. Despite their potential, the influence of these initiatives on health behaviour appears limited and evaluations of their effectiveness are rare. In this research, we propose evaluating the effectiveness of an established behaviour change intervention in a new workplace context. The intervention, 'mental contrasting plus implementation intentions', supports staff in achieving their health and wellbeing goals by encouraging them to compare the future with the present and to develop a plan for overcoming anticipated obstacles. We conducted a systematic review that identified only three trials of this intervention in workplaces and all of them were conducted within healthcare organisations. Our research will be the first to evaluate the effectiveness of mental contrasting outside a solely healthcare context. We propose including staff from 60 organisations, 30 in the intervention and 30 in a waitlisted control group. The findings will contribute to a better understanding of how to empower and support staff to improve their health and wellbeing. Trial registration: ISRCTN17828539.