Multicomponent occupational lifestyle intervention to improve physical activity, musculoskeletal health, and work environment among Japanese teleworkers (TELEWORK study): protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES

Teleworking from home was widespread during the 2019 coronavirus disease pandemic. This working practice is expected to maintain popularity among employers and employees. Compared with in-person workers, teleworkers tend to be less physically active and have more musculoskeletal pain. Interventions specific to reducing health risks among teleworkers have not been identified. This study will examine the effects of an occupational lifestyle intervention encompassing 3 components: physical activity promotion, musculoskeletal health, and work environment improvement.

METHODS

This cluster randomized trial will have a target sample size of 500 participants. The target population is healthy adults aged 18-64 years who telework at least once per week. Randomization will be conducted on a stratified block basis for clusters of 20 to 100 individuals within the recruited companies. The intervention period will be 12 weeks and comprise individual (online lectures, feedback, and periodic email messages), sociocultural (team building through step competition), physical (poster and tabletop pop-up), and organizational (encouraging message from an executive) strategies. The intervention group will be compared with a wait-list control group. The primary outcome will be the number of steps taken, as assessed by an accelerometer, and the secondary outcomes will be musculoskeletal pain and a telecommuting environment. The study protocol was registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (ID: UMIN000053861) (https://center6.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr/ctr.cgi?function=brows&action=brows&recptno=R000061478&type=summary&language=J).

RESULTS

Study enrollment began in March 2024, and the intervention will be completed by March 2025.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study are expected to provide helpful data for promoting healthy teleworking practices.