Influence of Health Literacy on the Physical Activity of Working Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the TRISEARCH Trial.

Studies show that high health literacy (HL) can support the promotion and maintenance of healthy behavior such as physical activity (PA). However, most studies rely on subjective data. The aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between HL and PA, not only with subjectively but also with objectively measured PA data. The present study is a pooled analysis of baseline data from the research association TRISEARCH (2015-2018), which focused on the HL of working adults. HL was measured by Lenartz' questionnaire, and PA by the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ; n = 1056). A subsample (n = 124) also received accelerometers (Actigraph GT3X+) to provide more objective PA data. Partial correlations and regression models were used to investigate the relationship between HL and questionnaire- and accelerometer-derived PA. Very low and medium partial correlations could be found for HL subscales and daily PA by questionnaire (r = -0.06, p < 0.05) and accelerometer (r = 0.26, p < 0.01). No subscale of HL made a significant contribution to the amount of daily PA (all p > 0.05). Not all subscales of HL seem to have an influence on the occurrence of healthy behavior, such as PA. This should be considered when HL-based interventions are designed. Further investigation of the relationship between HL and PA is needed. Objective assessments of both HL and PA can provide additional information for this task.

Expectations Regarding Workplace Health Coaching: A Qualitative Study With Stakeholders.

The integration of health coaching in workplace interventions has increased over the past several years. However, the tasks and the qualifications of the coaches have not been clearly defined. The objective of this qualitative study was to assess workplace stakeholders' expectations regarding a health coach. Systematic field notes of 11 meetings and 14 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders of a workplace intervention, including employees, company doctors, and representatives of health insurances, were analyzed according to the structured content analysis. Stakeholders reported that the main aspect of a health coach's work should be the motivation of clients (workers) to achieve their internally developed goals. Regarding the coach's competencies, personal, methodological, and social skills were desired. They also expected that the health coach use a range of different approaches to develop contacts and, in terms of content, focus on physical activity. These findings provide a step toward establishing criteria for professional health coaching and an evidence-based curriculum for coach training.

Effectiveness Studies in Health Promotion: A Review of the Methodological Quality of Studies Reporting Significant Effects on Physical Activity in Working Age Adults.

The methodology of intervention studies on physical activity (PA) promotion is of great importance regarding evidence development in complex interventions. The aim of this review was to provide an overview of the methodological quality of those studies which reported statistically significant effects of interventions promoting PA. PUBMED was searched for reviews on PA promotion to identify studies reporting effective interventions with participants of working age (16⁻67 years). Selected reviews were screened and data from primary studies with effective interventions were extracted to assess methodological quality. Forty-six reviews with 600 primary studies were identified, of which 33 met the inclusion criteria. Twenty-one studies were conducted as randomized controlled trials, 13 included an intervention control group, 25 measured PA by questionnaire, and 13 included objective measurements. Information on used statistics was often scarce, and long-term follow-up measurements were frequently missing. The overall methodological quality was moderate for randomized studies and low for non-randomized studies; information on methods and results was often lacking. To overcome these methodological issues, standardized guidelines for reporting study results should be considered, not only when publishing results but also when designing studies. This review provides a solid foundation for the development of practical advice for planning application-oriented studies in PA promotion.