A Multi-Year Wellness Survey of University Employees Surrounding the COVID-19 Pandemic
Faculty Advisor Name
Dr. Jeremy Akers
Department
Department of Health Professions
Description
A Multi-Year Wellness Survey of University Employees Surrounding the COVID-19 Pandemic
University employees face numerous workplace stressors that make adherence challenging to healthy lifestyle behaviors, including adequate nutrition, physical activity, and sleep. The COVID-19 pandemic has added further complexities, interrupting habitual routines through remote working, closure of fitness centers, and increased stress levels. This project examines trends in university employees' wellness outcomes over three surveys, distributed in 2019 (n=614, female=466/male=148, faculty=291/staff=323, age 46.2±11.8 years, BMI 27.8±6.2 kg/m2), 2021(n=375,female=283/male=92, faculty=178/staff=197, age 47.6±12.5 years, BMI 27.9±6.7 kg/m2), and 2022(n=419, female=302/male=117, faculty=183/staff=236, age 45.6± 12.5 years, BMI 27.5±6.7 kg/m2), to understand how the time frame surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic impacted body weight, various health conditions/states, daily sitting time, sleep habits, and stages of change for various health behaviors. Surveys were distributed via university email to all full-time and part-time employees. Descriptive statistics are presented as means±SD and frequencies, one-way ANOVAs were used for comparisons across the survey years, and bivariate correlations examined relationships among outcomes. Participants' average BMI remained relatively consistent (~27.5–27.9 kg/m2); however, there was a modest but significant weight gain in 2022 compared to the prior survey years (p<0.05 for both years). Average sitting time in 2022 (8.31±3.11 hours/day) was significantly lower than in 2019 (9.35±3.03 hours/day) and 2021 (9.06±3.22 hours/day, p<0.001). Total daily hours of sitting were correlated with current weight (r=0.164), and with changes in weight (r=0.104) (both p<0.001). Depressive disorders (22.6%), high cholesterol (18.1%), hypertension (12.2%), and asthma (12.2%) were the most frequently reported health conditions in 2019, though by 2022 the prevalence of these conditions decreased (depressive disorders=14.3%, high cholesterol=13.1%, hypertension=7.9%, and asthma=9.5%), while arthritis slightly increased. Correlations between stages of change (pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance) for health behaviors revealed a positive relationship between readiness to obtain a work-life balance and readiness for physical activity (r=0.407), and with readiness for eating healthy (r=0.320) (both p<0.001). Readiness to eat healthy was also correlated with readiness for physical activity (r=0.501), and with readiness to lose weight (r=0.578, (both p<0.001). Additionally, respondents noted a positive relationship between readiness to reduce alcohol use and readiness to reduce tobacco use (r=0.593, p<0.001). Further analyses pertaining to the stages of change for health-related behaviors across the survey years are upcoming. Findings from this multi-year study will be informative to creating targeted worksite wellness programs that support university employees to adopt and maintain health behaviors amid stressors related to work and/or global events.
A Multi-Year Wellness Survey of University Employees Surrounding the COVID-19 Pandemic
A Multi-Year Wellness Survey of University Employees Surrounding the COVID-19 Pandemic
University employees face numerous workplace stressors that make adherence challenging to healthy lifestyle behaviors, including adequate nutrition, physical activity, and sleep. The COVID-19 pandemic has added further complexities, interrupting habitual routines through remote working, closure of fitness centers, and increased stress levels. This project examines trends in university employees' wellness outcomes over three surveys, distributed in 2019 (n=614, female=466/male=148, faculty=291/staff=323, age 46.2±11.8 years, BMI 27.8±6.2 kg/m2), 2021(n=375,female=283/male=92, faculty=178/staff=197, age 47.6±12.5 years, BMI 27.9±6.7 kg/m2), and 2022(n=419, female=302/male=117, faculty=183/staff=236, age 45.6± 12.5 years, BMI 27.5±6.7 kg/m2), to understand how the time frame surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic impacted body weight, various health conditions/states, daily sitting time, sleep habits, and stages of change for various health behaviors. Surveys were distributed via university email to all full-time and part-time employees. Descriptive statistics are presented as means±SD and frequencies, one-way ANOVAs were used for comparisons across the survey years, and bivariate correlations examined relationships among outcomes. Participants' average BMI remained relatively consistent (~27.5–27.9 kg/m2); however, there was a modest but significant weight gain in 2022 compared to the prior survey years (p<0.05 for both years). Average sitting time in 2022 (8.31±3.11 hours/day) was significantly lower than in 2019 (9.35±3.03 hours/day) and 2021 (9.06±3.22 hours/day, p<0.001). Total daily hours of sitting were correlated with current weight (r=0.164), and with changes in weight (r=0.104) (both p<0.001). Depressive disorders (22.6%), high cholesterol (18.1%), hypertension (12.2%), and asthma (12.2%) were the most frequently reported health conditions in 2019, though by 2022 the prevalence of these conditions decreased (depressive disorders=14.3%, high cholesterol=13.1%, hypertension=7.9%, and asthma=9.5%), while arthritis slightly increased. Correlations between stages of change (pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance) for health behaviors revealed a positive relationship between readiness to obtain a work-life balance and readiness for physical activity (r=0.407), and with readiness for eating healthy (r=0.320) (both p<0.001). Readiness to eat healthy was also correlated with readiness for physical activity (r=0.501), and with readiness to lose weight (r=0.578, (both p<0.001). Additionally, respondents noted a positive relationship between readiness to reduce alcohol use and readiness to reduce tobacco use (r=0.593, p<0.001). Further analyses pertaining to the stages of change for health-related behaviors across the survey years are upcoming. Findings from this multi-year study will be informative to creating targeted worksite wellness programs that support university employees to adopt and maintain health behaviors amid stressors related to work and/or global events.
