A Hybrid Online and Face-to-Face Intervention for Reducing Sedentary Behavior among Office Workers: Health Belief Model

Background: Prolonged sitting at work is becoming a significant health issue, indicate the need to reduce sedentary behaviors, so, this study examined the effectiveness of a hybrid online and face-to-face intervention in reducing sedentary behaviors among office workers using the Health Belief Model. Method: One group quasi-experimental pretest-posttest with 172 office workers. The program intervention included six sessions, three face-to-face and three online via Zoom. The Personal Data Questionnaire, the Occupational Sitting and Physical Activity Questionnaire, and the Health Beliefs Model Questionnaire were used. Data analysis was done using SPSS. Results: Significant reductions in sedentary behaviors were observed from the pretest to the posttest; sitting time was reduced from 75.32 minutes to 29.62 minutes (P=0.000), but walking time increased from 11.22 minutes to 55.42 minutes (P=0.000). Furthermore, the total score of HBM among office workers significantly increased (64.17±6.43, P=0.000) after the intervention. The findings showed a significant positive correlation between the standing and walking time of office workers and their health beliefs score (P =0.000). Conclusions: The hybrid intervention proved effective in reducing sedentary behaviors and improving health beliefs toward physical activity among office workers. Recommendations: The study recommended that interventions to reduce sedentary behavior must be adopted in workplace policy and practice, and impeding or modifying theories in such interventions is crucial for altering individuals' behaviors.