Intergenerational living and learning: The value and risks of co-locating retirement villages on secondary school campuses - Evaluating the GrandSchools vision.

OBJECTIVES: GrandSchools is a new concept which co-locates retirement villages with secondary schools in one physical environment. Designed to enhance the health and well-being of both younger and older generations, this intergenerational-shared campus model promotes intergenerational inclusivity and active learning and living. In this paper, we explore stakeholder experts' perceptions of current opportunities and impediments to this proposed intergenerational learning and living model. METHODS: A qualitative study reporting on findings from an industry seminar (n = 50) and key interviews (n = 10) from stakeholders in education, health, higher education, the management and operation of retirement villages, and design firms. RESULTS: Three key themes summarised participants' assessment of the value, risks and what needs to change in order for intergenerational living and learning to become a reality. CONCLUSIONS: By bringing younger and older generations together in one shared campus location, GrandSchools is a novel idea to promote intergenerational inclusivity, enhancing the health and well-being of our whole community.

"In Initiative Overload": Australian Perspectives on Promoting Physical Activity in the Workplace from Diverse Industries.

Introduction: With two thirds of adults in paid employment and one third physically inactive, workplaces are an important setting for promoting more physical activity. We explored the attitudes and practices of employees and managers from different industries towards sitting and moving at work, to inform the development of acceptable solutions for encouraging businesses to adopt activity-promoting workplaces. Method: We conducted focus groups with employees and structured interviews with upper/middle managers from 12 organisations in a range of industries (e.g., education, healthcare, manufacturing, construction, insurance, mining). Topics focused on past and current workplace health and wellness initiatives, workplace culture and environment related to physical activity, responsibility for employee physical activity patterns at work, and enablers of/barriers to activity promoting workplaces. Results: Physical activity was not an explicit priority in existing occupational health and wellness initiatives. Instead, there was a strong focus on education about preventing and managing injuries, such as manual handling among non-office workers and desk-based ergonomics for office workers. Physical activity was viewed as a strategy for maintaining work ability and preventing injury, particularly in blue-collar staff, rather than for chronic disease prevention. Managers noted structural/organisational barriers/enablers to promoting physical activity at work (e.g., regulations, costs, competing concerns), while employees tended to focus on individual constraints such as time and geographic location. The issues of "initiative overload" and making physical activity a part of "business as usual" emerged as strong themes from employees and managers. Conclusions: While there is stakeholder enthusiasm for creating activity-promoting workplaces, multi-level support is needed to make physical activity an integral part of day-to-day business. The synergism between occupational health and safety priorities could be leveraged to facilitate the creation of activity-promoting workplaces.

A Brief Self-Directed Intervention to Reduce Office Employees' Sedentary Behavior in a Flexible Workplace.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to assess changes in employees' sedentary behavior after a brief self-directed intervention in a flexible workplace. METHODS: A total of 30 employees (69% female; 39.5 ±â€Š9 years) completed an online questionnaire before and after a 6-week intervention. The intervention comprised one group-based action planning session, using a smart activity tracker for self-monitoring, weekly email reminders, and a healthy living seminar. RESULTS: Total self-reported sitting time (including occupational and nonoccupational sitting) decreased nonsignificantly on days when working at the office (MΔ = -56 min/d, 95% confidence interval [CI], -128.5 to 17.0) and increased nonsignificantly when working at home (MΔ = 20.5 min/d, 95% CI, -64.5 to 105.5). The program had high acceptability in this participant group. CONCLUSIONS: Brief self-directed interventions using activity tracker devices show promise and may be highly acceptable in a flexible workplace. Additional strategies may be needed to create change in sedentary behavior.

Physical activity and sedentary behaviour in a flexible office-based workplace: Employee perceptions and priorities for change.

ISSUE ADDRESSED: Many Australian employees now regularly work from home in some capacity. This new way of working has not been widely studied in relation to the potential implications for employees' health-related behaviour or workplace health promotion. The aim of this study was to explore office-based employees' perceptions of the impact of flexible work on physical activity and sedentary behaviour; and preferences for associated interventions. METHODS: Three focus groups were conducted with office-based employees (n = 28) 6 months after the introduction of a flexible work policy. A semi-structured interview format with open-ended questions was used with summary statements to check understanding. Sessions were audiotaped, and dominant themes were identified. Findings on intervention preferences were interpreted using a social cognitive framework. An overview of results was provided to a group of managers (n = 9) for comment. RESULTS: Employees reported that physical activity was not impacted, but sedentary behaviour had increased, with flexible work. Intervention preferences focussed on occupational sedentary behaviour, self-regulation, prompts and social connections, and not the physical work environment. Managers agreed with employees' preferences and also wanted interventions to be sustainable. CONCLUSION: Self-directed interventions with social components and targeting occupational sedentary behaviour were more acceptable than physical activity interventions in this flexible workplace. SO WHAT?: Health promotion for workplaces with flexible work practices may benefit from prioritising strategies that promote self-regulation and social connections rather than being linked to the physical worksite.

Flexible Work: The Impact of a New Policy on Employees' Sedentary Behavior and Physical Activity.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to assess change in physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) in office-based employees after the implementation of a flexible work policy that allowed working at home. METHODS: A total of 24 employees (62% female; 40 ±â€Š10 years) completed an online questionnaire 4 weeks pre- and 6 weeks post-implementation of the policy. Changes in PA and SB were assessed using Wilcoxon signed rank test. RESULTS: There were no changes in PA after the introduction of the flexible work policy (Z = -0.29, P > 0.05). Sitting time increased on days the employees worked at home (Z = -2.02, P > 0.05) and on days they worked at the office (Z = -4.16, P > 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A flexible work policy may have had a negative impact on sedentary behavior in this workplace. Future work is needed to explore the potential impact on workplace sitting time.

The graded cycling test combined with the talk test is reliable for patients with ischemic heart disease.

PURPOSE: To assess relative reliability and measurement error of the Graded Cycling Test (GCT) with the Talk Test (TT) for patients with cardiac disease. METHODS: Patients (N = 64; women, n = 30) with ischemic heart disease performed the GCT with the TT twice in 1 day. Every minute the patient recited a text passage of 30 words. The question "Are you still able to speak comfortably?" was then answered: "Yes" (TT+), "Not sure" (TT±), or "No" (TT-). Two physiotherapists (PTs) rated when the speaking ability was affected by ventilation. Relative reliability: intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC)2.1 and absolute reliability: standard error of measurement with 95% CI (SEM95) and smallest real difference (SRD) were calculated. RESULTS: Intraclass correlation coefficient values of 0.90, 0.91, and 0.90 were observed for TT+, TT±, and TT-, respectively. Physiotherapist ICCs ranged between 0.81 and 0.88. SEM95 ranged between 17.2 and 18.3 watts (W), with corresponding SRD values between 24.4 and 25.9 W for the patient ratings. The PT ratings ranged between 15.8 and 21.4 W (SEM95) and between 22.3 and 30.3 W (SRD). CONCLUSIONS: The TT, combined with the GCT, was well tolerated by patients with cardiac disease in clinical settings with small measurement error and an excellent relative reliability. These results apply to both patient-rated and PT-rated TT.