Participant Surveys and Coordinator Surveys conducted with Queensland members on the 10,000 Steps website. The surveys were originally implemented in 2012 when one of the objectives of 10,000 Steps was to: Increase levels of physical activity in accordance with Australia’s Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines amongst Queensland participants by supporting the implementation of 10,000 Steps Tournament.
The Participant Survey
The Participant survey measured Queensland participants’ activity levels, intentions to be active and socio‐demographics prior to the start of the 10,000 Steps Tournament (baseline), 6 weeks after the commencement of the Tournament (6 week assessment) and 3 months after the completion of the Tournament (18 week assessment). Changes in physical activity:
- At baseline 69.0% of participants who responded reported being sufficiently active.
- At 6 weeks 80.1% reported being sufficiently active.
- At 18 weeks 73.4% reported being sufficiently active.
When examining workplace support for physical activity, 73.1% of participants reported feeling encouraged by co-workers to take part in physical activity, and 59.5% reported management support for participation in physical activity. The majority of participants reported that their participation in the Tournament resulted in them being able to increase their level of physical activity at work (66.1%) and outside of work hours (57.4%) and that the pedometer motivated them to achieve their daily physical activity goals (78.1%). Overall, 89.6% of participants reported that they enjoyed taking part in the 10,000 Steps Tournament, 88.3% agreed that they would participate in another Tournament and 90.1% would recommend the 10,000 Steps Tournament to other workplaces.
In summary, the findings from the Participant Surveys suggest that the 10,000 Steps
Tournament is an effective and popular intervention to increase physical activity in
teams, including workplaces. Not only have the Tournaments been found to
significantly increase the physical activity levels of participants, it has also shown that
participants are choosing to continue physical activity and healthy behaviours beyond
the duration of the Tournament. As well as positively influencing behaviour change,
the participants of the Tournaments have rated them extremely positive with the
majority saying they enjoyed the Tournament, would participate in another and
recommend them to other organisations.
“10,000 Steps Tournaments are effective in increasing sufficient physical activity levels of participants.”
The Coordinator Survey
The Coordinator Survey evaluates the 10,000 Steps program from a broader organisational perspective by assessing Queensland organisations commitment to employee health and wellbeing in general, which 10,000 Steps resources the organisation used and whether the resources were useful in promoting physical activity and health 6 weeks after each organisations Tournament begins.
- 95% of Coordinators who responded to the survey reported that the 10,000 Steps resources are useful or extremely useful in promoting
physical activity.
- 93.1% believed the resources to be effective in increasing
physical activity in their employees.
- 74.9% reported the time required to implement the program to be low to reasonable.
- 90.6% reported the
financial cost of implementing the program to be low to reasonable.
- 88% reported that they liked the presentation of the 10,000 Steps website.
- 92.3% indicated that they were either satisfied or very
satisfied with the support that they received from the 10,000 Steps project office.
Overall, the Coordinators from Queensland Workplaces have rated the 10,000 Steps
program extremely positively. First and foremost, they have found the program to be
both useful and effective in promoting and increasing physical activity in their
organisation. The Workplace resources provided to support the implementation of the
Tournament are useful and Coordinators are very satisfied with the support provided
from the 10,000 Steps project office. In addition to this, the Coordinators have stated that
the requirements to implement 10,000 Steps, in terms of staff time and financial
costs, are reasonable.
“Queensland Organisations found 10,000 Steps to be useful and effective for promoting physical activity, without requiring too much time or money to implement.”