Table 6.
Themes elicited from process evaluation interviews with University students (n = 9).
| Themes | Category | Subcategory | Exemplar statement | Frequency across interviews (n = 9) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Implementation | Assessment | Wearing the activPAL was comfortable | “It didn't bother me at all. After a few hours you just forget it is there.” | 8 |
| Data collection reminders via text messages were helpful | “The reminder to collect the data at the end of the day was really good, just to remember about it.” | 7 | ||
| Too many wear days (activPAL) | “Towards the end of the second week I got a bit fed up, especially at night, as I sleep face down.” | 2 | ||
| Intervention | The intervention session was helpful and clearly delivered. | “I think everything was really clear. I liked the visuals, that really helped me, and also the definitions for different physical activities. It was very informative and it made me think a lot about how much sitting really affects me.” | 8 | |
| I didn't use any of the apps suggested | “I did look at the apps, I just didn't get around to using them myself.” | 8 | ||
| The intervention text messages were helpful | “I thought the text messages were really great. With some of the apps I've tried, they were just like ‘get up and get a drink of water now, bla bla bla’. But with the text messages I thought that was better for me because there were reasons, suggestions, etc all different types of reminders, more complex.” | 7 | ||
| Poster was an effective visual cue | “I had the poster on my desk and when I was studying I looked at it and I was like ‘think outside the chair’ (poster phrase), that was really good, as a cue.” | 4 | ||
| The intervention text messages were irrelevant | “It wasn't helpful for me personally. I'm not on my phone, I don't keep my phone with me that much. Most people are attached to their phones. I'm not one of them.” | 2 | ||
| Context | University workload | Higher levels of total and prolonged sedentary behaviour during the exam period | “Towards the end of the semester, when I start doing exam revision, I probably sit down more to focus, because I can't… otherwise my mind wanders a bit too much. So, yes, the closer to exam time, I probably sit a lot longer.” | 8 |
| External influences during the study period | Pre and post periods were comparable | “In general yes. That was the only out of the norm thing. But generally my routine didn't change at all, so I studied the same, worked the same, etc.” | 8 | |
| Weather | Higher levels of total and prolonged sedentary behaviour during winter/summer | “In winter, when it's cold, I'm more likely to grab a blanket and wrap up. In summer, I'd be sitting down as well, because it's too hot to do anything. So the weather does affect me.” | 5 | |
| Work | Higher levels of total and prolonged sedentary behaviour during days off | “For me, because I do work, I do stand a lot when I work. Then I'd tend to sit a lot when I'm at home. I just sit a lot.” | 2 | |
| Mechanisms of actiona | Knowledge | Increased knowledge about sedentary behaviour | “It has influenced me yes. What I've learnt about sitting behaviour, and why it matters. I think the access to the information that you gave me has definitely opened up my mind.” | 8 |
| Attitude towards the behaviour | Negative attitude towards too much sitting | “Yeah, definitely. As I said, the other day I just got fed up seeing how much I was actually sitting down. I got sick and tired of watching TV every day. And I'm like ‘no, get out’.” | 7 | |
| Sedentary behaviour is not inherently bad | “I didn't really see it… I don't have a negative attitude towards too much sitting. It can help me to get my degree, for example.” | 2 | ||
| Feedback processes | Feedback was eye-opening | “I was just shocked by that day I spent 20 hours sitting. I think seeing the data there really was like ‘okay, that's just the facts, I have to change it, I can't argue it’. It definitely did motivate me.” | 8 | |
| Motivation | Increased motivation | “I feel I'm more motivated, not just for (reducing) sitting but also to be more active in general, like walking more. I catch an Uber for everything…” | 7 | |
| Belief about consequences | Reducing total and prolonged sedentary behaviour is good for your physical health | “I think even… I've had a lot of back pain in the past, and that has felt better this week because I've gone out walking, I've spent more time standing up.” | 8 | |
| Reducing total and prolonged sedentary behaviour is good for your mental health | “For me it was definitely the mental aspect. It kind of refreshes you. If you do something for too long and then once you stand up, I feel it kind of refreshes my mind a little.” | 6 | ||
| Breaking up sedentary behaviour helps you to be more organised | “It has helped me to organise my time more efficiently, by breaking up my day. Usually I'm so disorganised.” | 2 | ||
| Behavioural cueing | Text messages as effective prompts/cues | “One of the really good things were the text messages, as a reminders. It helped me, I think if I didn't have it would have been a lot harder (change behaviour).” | 7 | |
| Visual cues as effective triggers | “Looking at the poster was a good reminder, especially when I was tired and started looking away from the screen.” | 4 | ||
| Intentions | Conscious decision to reduce total and prolonged sedentary behaviour | “I feel I was thinking about it a lot this week. Before I was not actively trying to make changes in this area, I'd be mindlessly sitting.” | 6 | |
| Behavioural regulation | Goals to reduce total and prolonged sedentary behaviour | “One of my goals was to go for a walk and one was to do the dishes, and that sort of thing… so having goals was good. I'm a bit of an achievement-hunter, so I really wanted to achieve the goal. I think that was really helpful.” | 4 | |
| Self-monitoring of sedentary behaviour | “I kind of tracked my behaviour when I was studying, with the computer clock. For example, ‘I wanna do three hours and I divide it in blocks of 30-45 minutes’.” | 5 | ||
| Skills | Develop new skills | “Yes, I've developed new skills, based on some of the strategies we discussed to reduce and break up my sitting time.” | 5 | |
| Use existing skills | “I'd say no. Because I wasn't doing things that I was not doing before, but just maybe more often.” | 4 | ||
| Social/professional role and identity | Part of the student role | “Yes, cause it's mainly when I'm more conscious of breaking up my sitting, when I'm studying.” | 5 | |
| Not part of the student role | “A little bit. I don't see it as a huge part of my student role. Studying, completing assignments, absolutely, but this one, not sure…” | 4 | ||
| Reinforcement | I don't bribe myself | “I don't know. I didn't really use prizes or anything like that.” | 7 | |
| Use of snack breaks | “I guess I could call it… when I have a break to stand up I'm having a snack, and drink water or (have) something to eat.” | 2 | ||
| Subjective norms | Reducing and breaking up sedentary behaviour is not emphasised in the University setting | “Not really, I definitely don't think it's even acknowledged at the uni. There's no real focus on activity in the courses I'm in, or any of the people I do the course with. There is not a focus into a healthy lifestyle.” | 8 | |
| Social influences | No external influences | “Not really. It was my individual behaviour. My parents were aware I was participating in the study, but they didn't influence me.” | 7 | |
| I've tried to convince others to reduce their sedentary behaviour | “I haven't had a lot of social support… it was more me trying to help him (partner).” | 5 | ||
| Family members promote change | “Yes, my dad, he nudges, he's like ‘get up, do this, do that’, so I think one of the days I was just sitting down reading and he came and annoyed me to go and tidy up the yard, so he pretty much bugged me to get up. They knew I was going to do this as well (participating in the study).” | 2 | ||
| Self-image | Not long enough to change one's conception of oneself | “Not so much in a week. If I continue over a month or so I'll definitely… I feel I've been standing a fair bit more though.” | 8 | |
| Behaviour change process | Strategies | Perform tasks standing or moving rather than sitting | “The activities I could do standing, I just did it, like talking on the phone or something like that.” | 7 |
| More household jobs | “Yeah, doing a lot more households jobs. I was more motivated to break up sitting by doing something else in between sitting, like study for a little bit and then get up, fold the washing, or actually cook a meal or something like that, and then go and sit down.” | 4 | ||
| Use of visual cues | “I put sticky notes on my laptop to just remind me to break up sitting. I think I'm probably more like a visual person.” | 4 | ||
| Take the long way | “I did the ‘take the long way’ thing (suggested strategy), for example this morning I took a diversion to come here and meet you, to make it longer.” | 3 | ||
| Barriers | Easy to forget about it | “I'm like one person that when I'm studying I kind of forget (to reduce and break up sitting), or if I'm on my phone… I just don't see the time.” | 7 | |
| Goal conflict with studying | “It was hard to maintain (behaviour change), with external factors like studying, classes, etc.” | 6 | ||
| Social norm to sit | “My family came, so I sat a lot for socialising. I didn't want to be rude and just stand up during the conversation. That was another factor, just being with your friends or family… ‘oh I need to stand up’, and they say ‘why are you standing up? Are you okay?’.” | 3 | ||
| Difficult to ‘break’ a habit | “Nothing preventing me (from reducing and breaking up sedentary behaviour), just the habit I guess. It's hard after only six days. I think it takes a little bit longer to create a habit, so if it was a bit more prolonged I definitely think you see more changes in my patterns.” | 2 | ||
| How sedentary behaviour was substituted | A combination of standing and walking | “I did go for a few more walks this week, but yeah, when I had the breaks I was mostly standing, not really walking that much.” | 3 | |
| Mainly walking | “When I wasn't sitting I was probably just walking around, maybe do something in the house like clean up or stuff like that.” | 3 | ||
| Mainly standing | “I was replacing it (sitting) mainly with standing. The activities I could do standing, I just did it. I tried studying while standing a little bit as well.” | 3 | ||
| Occupational vs non-occupational | Recreational easier | “Recreational is easier, because if I'm listening to a lecture I kind of have to sit there and listen to it. With leisure activities I can make choices (to reduce and break up sitting). For example, going for a walk with friends.” | 7 | |
| Studying easier | “Studying was easier, because I had the timer. ‘Times is up, time to move away’, as opposed to looking at something else. Because I'm not really thinking about sitting when I'm watching TV. I didn't make a conscious effort to get up.” | 1 | ||
| Future behaviour | I'll continue reducing and breaking up my sedentary time | “I'm going to take what I've learnt from this, cause really it's not that hard just to stand when you don't have to be sitting. So I think I'll continue and find more ways to reduce my sitting in total.” | 9 |
a
Unlike the rest of themes, the “mechanism of action” categories are based on pre-specified constructs, as described in the Theory and Technique Tool (Michie et al., 2018).