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. 2018 Jun 20;2018(6):CD010912. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD010912.pub4
Methods Random allocation with cross‐over and wait‐list control
Participants were allocated randomly by drawing from the ballot four at a time. The first four were allocated to intervention group and next four to control group for four weeks. The remaining participants were assigned to the wait‐list control condition and were placed on the waiting list in seven groups (four to five people per group). After the initial four weeks, the previous control group received the intervention with the next group from the ballot draw serving as their controls. This was repeated until all nine groups had received the intervention.
Unblinded
Study duration: 9 weeks
Dropout: 7%
Location: Australia
Recruitment: project was advertised to staff as part of their workplace wellness program via internal mail, staff meetings and information fliers in the office. Staff members who were interested in participating contacted the research team and received additional project information and an expression of interest form. They could then join the study ballot by returning the expression of interest form.
Participants Population: staff from a non‐government health agency in New South Wales, Australia
Demographics:
BMI (kg/m²): underweight (< 18.5): 13%, normal range (18.5–24.9): 50%, overweight (25–29.9): 25%, obese (≥ 30): 13%
Interventions Duration of intervention: 9 weeks
Intervention: sit‐stand desk
Control: no sit‐stand desk
Outcomes Outcome name, measurement time/tool (units of measurement)
  • Changes in self‐reported and objectively assessed time spent sitting, standing and walking/stepping (minutes/day) before and after the use of a sit‐stand desk measured by ActivPALs and self‐report questionnaires.

  • Domain specific sitting (minutes/day) over the whole day, assessed by self‐report.

Notes This research was supported by funding from Heart Foundation New South Wales, and Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Program Grant (#569940).
Risk of bias
Bias Authors' judgement Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias) Low risk Randomly drawn from a ballot by a researcher in the presence of potential participants and other researchers. Participants were allocated to the intervention group, control group and wait‐list control condition.
Allocation concealment (selection bias) High risk Allocation concealment was not possible due to the open plan nature of the study office environment.
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes High risk Research staff, participants, and assessors were not blinded to group allocation.
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes Unclear risk Not reported
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes Low risk Three participants who were missing age or BMI values were not included in the analyses. Imputing values for these missing covariate values did not influence the effect of the intervention on the adjusted estimates for the outcomes, nor did it change the effects age or BMI had on the outcome.
Selective reporting (reporting bias) Low risk All outcomes mentioned in the methods section were reported. The study protocol was not available.
Baseline comparability/ imbalance Low risk Since the trial used a cross‐over design, all the participants would receive the interventions at some point.
Validity of outcome measure Low risk The accelerometer is a valid instrument for the measurement of sitting time.