Table 1 Combined link between COM-B model, TDF domains, intervention functions, policy categories and BCTs
COM-B Component | TDF | What needs to happen for the target behaviour to occur | Evidence to support the need for change (Quotes from the interviews) | Intervention Functions | Policy Categories | Behaviour Change Techniques (BCTs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Psychological Capability | Knowledge | Have access to empirical evidence that supports breaking up sitting time | “Personally, I think I base my decisions on evidence, case studies and ‘big shots’. Therefore, the more information we have about how it’s beneficial to people and exactly what has happened, the intervention provided and the exact result” (Participant 24, female, in their 40's) | Education | Communication/Marketing, Guidelines | 9.1 Credible source 5.1 Information about health consequences 5.3 Information about social and environmental consequences |
Have an awareness of the health consequence of excessive sitting | “I think you need to keep spreading the message that sitting for long periods of time actually isn’t good for you” (Participant 18, aged 59) “I think, for me, possibly having a clearer understanding of the damage and negatives” (Participant 6, male, in their 20's) | Education | Communication/Marketing, Guidelines | 5.1 Information about health consequences | ||
Have an awareness of the benefit of breaking up sitting | “I think it’s about … education, I think it’s about those key communication, and the positive, yes negative is important, but actually promoting the positive or focusing on the benefits rather than … ..” (Participant 19, male, in their 30's) | Education | Communication/Marketing, Guidelines | 5.1 Information about health consequences | ||
Have access to feedback about individual health behaviour | “Erm, somebody from occupational health came out to see me, and pointed that I sit kind of wonky at my desk. I think if we have something or someone that tells us our progress, I’m sure everyone would be inclined to adjust” (Participant 9, female in their 30's) | Education | Guidelines | 2.2 Feedback on behaviour | ||
Know other strategies to break up sitting | “Maybe by reducing use of emails a bit more; instead stand up and talk to people rather than email when they are just there” (Participant 11, female in their 40's) | Education | Communication/Marketing | 8.1 Behavioural practice/rehearsal 8.2 Behaviour substitution 8.3 Habit formation 8.4 Habit reversal | ||
Skills | Understand guidelines on sitting in the workplace | “What do the experts say? Erm to be honest with you, I can’t say I have any particular knowledge or guidance to it. I don’t know what the recommendation is (smile) so I can’t answer that …” (Participant 22, female in their 40's) “I’m not aware of any advice that says ‘Don’t sit for longer than X amount” (Participant 21, female in their 50's) | Training | Guidelines | 4.1 Instruction on how to perform the behaviour | |
Memory, Attention & Decision Processes | Improve ability to remember to take breaks from sitting | “Yea I would do a chair that buzzes or causes electric shock; shaking chair that’s got a pressure pad on it so you know if it’s been sat on it for a long time” (Participant 19, male in their 30's) “I think technology can be used for pop-up on peoples’ computer every now and then, reminding them to get up and move or to get up and work once an hour or so” (Participant 8, male, in their 30's) | Environmental restructuring Enablement | Environmental/Social planning | 7.1 Prompts/cues 12.5 Adding objects to the environment 12.1 Restructuring the physical environment | |
Behavioural Regulation | Identify and develop strategies to break existing habits and for self-monitoring of sitting | If I’ve got something that I can look at and I think ‘oh I should be doing that’. The guilt factor always works … I would be willing to try if I know I’m being monitored (Participant 10, female in their 40's) “Getting drinks, getting water. For example, at the moment I do have a bottle on my desk but I’ve actually decided on getting a small cup to allow me stand up as many times as possible...” (Participant 6, male, in their 20's) | Education Enablement | Communication/Marketing, Environmental/Social planning | 2.3 Self-monitoring of behaviour 2.1 Monitoring of behaviour by others without feedback 2.2 Feedback on behaviour 1.2 Problem solving 1.4 Action planning 7.1 Prompts/cues 12.5 Adding objects to the environment | |
Physical Capability | Skills | Have physical strength to move more and sit less | “Erm, if somebody was ill - I’m not personally, but - if somebody was, if they had a bad back or bad legs and it’s difficult for them to walk around on a regular basis, I think they would benefit a lot from getting help from physio and weight training” (Participant 4, female, in their 50's) | Training Enablement | Environmental/Social planning | 12.6 Body changes |
Social Opportunity | Social influences | Have the enablement to make tea by oneself rather than by colleagues | “Because they (colleagues) make my tea for me (laughs). We share the roles, we’ve got rota for making tea, so the four of us that drink tea take turns to get the drink. They are influencing my sitting time because they are making my drinks, so I’m not actually having to get up and do it myself” (Participant 20, male, in their 40's) | Enablement | Environmental / social planning | 6.3 Information about others’ approval 1.2 Problem solving 1.4 Action planning |
Consider creating a team for peer support and comparison | “I would feel uncomfortable doing it on my own, so I just kind of carry on as I am, but I think if we were doing it as a whole, we would not feel alone and can compare what we are doing with our colleagues’” (Participant 10, female, in their 40's) | Enablement | Environmental / social planning | 6.2 Social comparison 12.2 Restructuring the social environment 3.1 Social support (unspecified) | ||
Identify a time keeper to get people moving | “A possibility depends on whether I can get a Fire Marshall that would jump up and say ‘common people, let’s do stretches’. I think there are people in our office who are well placed to do that kind of thing” (Participant 10, female, in their 40's) | Modelling Enablement | Environmental/Social planning | 3.2 Social support (practical) 6.1 Demonstration of the behaviour | ||
Encourage having walking or standing meetings | “Walking meeting would be nice. You know when you’re just walking around, having a meeting instead of sitting in a place” (Participant 13, female, in their 20's) | Enablement | Environmental/Social planning | 8.1 Behavioural practice/rehearsal 8.2 Behaviour substitution 8.3 Habit formation 8.4 Habit reversal 12.2 Restructuring the social environment | ||
Consider stretching or walking for 5 min every hour | “Go for a walk every hour or do the stretching kind of every half an hour for five mins” (Participant 9, female, in their 30's) | Enablement | Environmental/Social planning | 1.1 Goal setting (behaviour) 1.4 Action planning | ||
Encourage senior management to participate in breaking up sitting to ensure support | “I guess a manager would be appropriate person, so that you don’t feel you are doing something you should not do” (Participant 24, female, in their 40's) | Enablement | Environmental/Social planning | 3.1 Social support (unspecified) 12.2 Restructuring the social environment | ||
Organisational support for moving more and sitting less | “I think there can be some sort of support from management or line managers to make sure that, you are not just sitting there continuously … Cultural change at higher level, maybe via a training section, leaflet or booklet that go around or one of those online courses that we normally do - like fire awareness training, health and safety training …” (Participant 7, male, in their 30's) | Enablement | Environmental/social planning | 3.1 Social support (unspecified) 12.2 Restructuring the social environment | ||
Physical Opportunity | Environmental context and Resources | Provision of computer reminder system | “I think technology can be used for pop-up on peoples’ computer every now and then, reminding them to get up and move or to get up and work once an hour or so” (Participant 8, male, in their 30's) | Enablement | Environmental/Social planning | 7.1 Prompts/cues 12.5 Adding objects to the environment |
Provide height-adjustable desks to ensure employees continue working while standing up | “We probably do need our desks to be adjusted …. you know, at the right height. Well, I’m surprised this place doesn’t have them but I have worked in places where, hmm, where we have actually had height-adjustable desks. This place should have them, full stop” (Participant 4, female, in their 50's) | Environmental restructuring | Environmental/Social planning | 12.1 Restructuring the physical environment 12.5 Add object to the environment | ||
Move printers, water dispensers away from employees’ desks | “Moving photocopiers and water dispenser further away … Same with toilet facilities. We’ve got to walk to them! Also, probably getting rid of all the rest of the printers, and we’ve only got one printer to use” (Participant 20, male, in their 40's) | Environmental restructuring | Environmental/Social planning | 12.1 Restructuring the physical environment | ||
Provide treadmill/ stand up chairs or buzzing chairs | “Yeah I would do a chair that goes up and down or a chair that buzzes or causes electric shock; shaking chair that’s got a pressure pad on it so you know if it’s been sat on it for a long time” (Participant 19, male, in their 30's) “Mind you there are some brilliant chairs around, have you seen some of these new chairs, the stand-up ones, they are like rockers, and you’ve got to keep your stability and your muscles working …. ‘cause your legs are permanently keeping you stable and those flexing which are equivalent of walking, but you’re not stood up” (Participant 8, male, in their 30's) | Environmental restructuring | Environmental/Social planning | 12.1 Restructuring the physical environment 12.5 Adding objects to the environment 7.1 Prompts/cues | ||
Access to a standing hot desk | “Yeah, possibly a hot-desking idea might be a good one, switching from my desk to a higher one. Yeah good use for that!” (Participant 13, female, in their 20's) | Environmental restructuring | Environmental/Social planning | 12.1 Restructuring the physical environment 12.5 Adding objects to the environment | ||
Reflective Motivation | Beliefs about Capabilities | Have a strong will and belief you can break up sitting | “Somewhat confident, not massively … I hardly move until lunch break … I could break it up a little more and but not massively” (Participant 8, male, in their 30's) “I am not making any excuse, but it is difficult for me at the moment to see how I can incorporate exercise into my day …” (Participant 18, female, in their 50's) | Education Persuasion | Communication/Marketing | 15.1 Verbal persuasion about capability 15.2 Mental rehearsal of successful performance 1.4 Action planning |
Acknowledge the need for self-discipline | “If you discipline yourself to do something you can do it, if you have willpower ….” (Participant 3, female, in their 20's) | Education Persuasion | Communication/Marketing | 8.3 Habit formation 4.2 Information about antecedents 8.1 Behavioural practice/rehearsal | ||
Goal | Have breaking up sitting goals with an expectation of reward | “Well I’m motivated by having a pound every time I get up, or, or a chocolate every time I get up … It wouldn’t necessarily have to be money, it could be a kind of build credits for some sort of treat or, I don’t know, half an hour of you know” (Participant 25, female, in their 40's) “I think people could become quite motivated if you could develop some sort of challenge thing. Erm, you know, people like games or competitions, people can find motivation from that point of view” (Participant 6, male, in their 20's) | Incentivisation | Communication/Marketing | 1.1 Goal setting (behaviour) 1.2 Problem solving, 1.4 Action planning 10.1 Material incentive (behaviour) 10.2 Material reward (behaviour) 10.3 Non-specific reward 10.4 Social reward 10.5 Social incentive 10.6 Non-specific incentive 10.9 Self-reward | |
Intention | Move from the state of contemplation to commitment to break up sitting | “I just need to prioritize it really. It’s prioritization, you need that reminder” (Participant 13, female, in their 20's) | Education Persuasion | Communication/Marketing | 1.1 Goal setting 1.4 Action Planning | |
Automatic Motivation | Emotion | Discuss the risk involved in prolonged sitting to reduce the influence of mood | “Because I’m low in mood I sit for a long time. Most times, when I leave I’m tired, lethargic, and drained. I think getting up more would just make me better by the end of the day” (Participant 10, female, in their 40's) | Persuasion | Communication/Marketing | 5.6 Information about emotional consequences 11.2 Reduce negative emotions 2.4 Self-monitoring of outcome(s) of behaviour 4.4 Behavioural experiments |
Reinforcement | Develop goals with incentives and reward to encourage employees to break up their sitting time | “Maybe incentives, but I’m not sure what the incentive would be. Whether you do this and you get a bag of apples at the end of the month” (Participant 10, female, in their 40's) | Incentivisation | Communication/Marketing | 10.8 Incentive (outcome) 10.1 Material incentive (behaviour) 10.2 Material reward (behaviour) 10.3 Non-specific reward 10.6 Non-specific incentive |