Reduce Sedentariness and Enhance Psychological Well-being of Office Workers With TCM-based Intervention

NCT06183125 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: V2023
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 64
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the effects of a TCM-based anti-sedentariness program on workplace sitting time, perceived stress, and cortisol in office workers.The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. 1.Can a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)-based anti-sedentariness program effectively reduce workplace sitting time, perceived stress and cortisol levels among office workers?
2. 2.Whether such anti-sedentary effect works through stress management and enhances when holistic thinking is endorsed.

Conditions

Sedentary Behavior

Keywords

sedentary behavior; office worker; Traditional Chinese Medicine; RCT; psychophysiological mechanism

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (5)

• sedentary behavior- total sitting time/workday

  measured by Actigraph wGT3X-BT

  Baseline, week 5, week 9

• sedentary behavior- sitting time/9-h working time

  measured by Actigraph wGT3X-BT

  Baseline, week 5, week 9

• Self-report sedentary behaviors

  measured by International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ short version) with 8 items. Physical activity levels can be classified as low intensity when the weekly MET (metabolic equivalent of task) value is less than 600, moderate intensity when it ranges from 600 to 3000 MET, and high intensity when it exceeds 3000 MET per week.

  Baseline, week 5, week 9

• psychological stress

  measured by perceived stress scale(PSS) with 10 items. Each item in the PSS questionnaire is rated on a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (very often). Participants are asked to indicate the frequency with which they have experienced each event over the past month.The total score on the PSS can range from 0 to 40. Higher scores indicate a higher level of perceived stress.

  Baseline, week 5, week 9

• physiological stress

  measured by salivary cortisol concentration(measured in ng/mL)

  Baseline, week 5, week 9

Secondary Outcomes (8)

• Holistic thinking

  Baseline

• Health-related quality of life

  Baseline, week 5, week 9

• Sleep quality

  Baseline, week 5, week 9

• Psychological distress

  Baseline, week 5, week 9

• Self efficay

  Baseline, week 5, week 9

Study Arms (2)

TCM-based anti-sedentariness intervention group

EXPERIMENTAL

TCM-based anti-sedentariness intervention

Behavioral: Traditional Chinese Medicine-based program

Wait-list control group

OTHER

After the completion of all evaluations, the intervention content will be administered to the experimental group in the same manner.

Behavioral: Traditional Chinese Medicine-based program

Interventions

Traditional Chinese Medicine-based program BEHAVIORAL

Week1-2: one health talk session(60 mins); three workshops (each workshop will last for 60-90mins) to provide hands-on training in Baduanjin, acupressure techniques, mindful stretching, and effective strategies to combat sedentary behavior in the workplace. Week 3-4: group practice sessions will take place for one hour every other day throughout the workweek; website support.

Also known as: TCM-based program

TCM-based anti-sedentariness intervention group; Wait-list control group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Aged 18 or above with a full-time and office-based job
• Reported \>5.5 hours of sitting per day at work
• Native Chinese speaker (Cantonese or Mandarin)
• Be able to give consent

You may not qualify if:

• Have severe or chronic illness and not suitable for physical exercise
• Be oversensitive to tactile stimulation
• Have regular practice of qigong, acupressure, or mindfulness-based activities during the 4 weeks prior to recruitment

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The Hong Kong Polytechnic University: lead

Study Sites (1)

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 999077, China

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Sedentary Behavior

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Study Officials

• Hector Tsang, PhD

  The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: Due to the nature of the experiment, participants will not be blinded. However, the intervention provider and the evaluator will be blinded.
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Chair Professor

Model Details: A randomized controlled trial will be conducted among 64 office workers with self-reported sitting time of 5.5 hours or longer per workday. They will be randomly assigned to intervention (TCM-based program) and wait-list control groups.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 13, 2023
• First Posted: December 27, 2023
• Study Start: March 20, 2024
• Primary Completion: December 30, 2024
• Study Completion: December 31, 2024
• Last Updated: June 18, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CN (1)