Introduction: Lack of time, management support, insufficient facilitates, workload balance, and culture are often reported as common barriers to physical activity (PA) participation in the workplace. In comparison, identifying facilitators of PA in the workplace are scarce. A ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to overcoming the barriers may also be unsuccessful within university settings where multidisciplinary workforce exists due to the heterogeneity nature of job roles. Thus, the aim of this study was to understand the perceived barriers and facilitators of PA of university employees who were classified as active or inactive based on their job roles. Methods: Forty-one employees (female = 17; male = 24) participated in focus groups to discuss their perceived barriers and facilitators to PA in the workplace. Participants were categorised based on their PA levels as active and inactive prior analysing the semi-structured focus groups data via using thematic analysis. Results and Discussion: The results showed that a lack of time was reported by 80% of the participants as a barrier to PA, including 63% inactive and 17% of the active participants. This included 27% administrators’ staff, 23% academics, 19% senior management, and 11% professional service staff. Over 75% participants reported a lack of management support as one of the perceived barriers to their PA engagement in the workplace. Approximately 58% also reported workplace culture as a barrier to PA participation. Open access to a gym on campus was perceived to be the main facilitator to engaging in PA in the future. Similarly, increased management support for engaging in PA and having flexibility during working days were perceived as facilitators for PA engagement and a way to reduced sedentary behaviour in the workplace. Conclusions: These findings contribute to the limited literature in terms of evaluating obstacles and facilitators of university employees to encourage engagement with PA in the workplace. These findings can be applied to form PA, health, and wellbeing-related interventions specifically targeting these identified barriers that are experienced in the workplace and thereby potentially reducing absenteeism and increasing productivity.

Background: The growing improvement in urbanisation, modes of transportation and the expansion of sedentary behaviour, both at work and home, have resulted in declining rates of physical activity (PA) worldwide. Nearly one-third of the global population aged 15 and over are insufficiently active. The negative effect of physical inactivity has been evidenced and ranked fourth as the lethal cause of death globally. Therefore, the aim of this research was to explore the factors influencing PA participation among youths from different geographical locations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods: Sixteen focus groups (males = 8 and females = 8) were conducted with a total of 120 secondary school students (male = 63 and female = 57) aged between 15 and 19 years. The focus groups were analysed to identify key themes through the process of thematic analysis. Results: Results from the focus groups indicated that a lack of time, safety, parental support, policies, access to sport and PA facilities, and transportation, as well as climate were reported as barriers to PA participation. Discussion and conclusion: The current research contributes to the scarce literature focused on the multidimensional effects on Saudi youth PA behaviour from different geographical locations. This qualitative approach has provided the participants a voice, and the overall study offers valuable evidence as well as invaluable information to policymakers, public health departments, and local authorities for PA intervention based on the environment and the community.

Introduction: The benefits of walking on health and well-being is well established and regarded as the most accessible form of physical activity (PA) that most individuals can incorporate into their lives. Despite the benefits, the impact of a competitive walking intervention combined with a prize incentive in the workplace is yet to be established. The aim of this intervention was to promote PA among university employees through teams-based competition with a prize incentive targeted towards the recommended 10,000 steps per day.Methods: A total of 49 employees participated and formed eight departmental teams ranging from Senior Admin management, Educational & Social work, Nursing & Midwifery, Sport & Exercise, Health Sciences, Admin Assistant, Library, and IT to compete in a walking intervention. Each team was handed an ActiGraph wGT3X-BT from Monday to Friday to record their walking steps. Steps. Post intervention participants completed an open-ended survey to provide their views about the intervention.Results: The ActiGraph findings determined that steps increased by 4,799 per day from daily baseline of 5,959 to 10,758 throughout this intervention. The themes from qualitative data showed that the prize incentive and competitive nature of this intervention has motivated staff to walk more, changed their behaviour, enjoyed the team-based competition, and improved perceived productivity in the workplace.Discussion and conclusion: This intervention increased employees’ daily steps by 4,799 and met the 10,000 steps guideline. The ‘Health Sciences’ team recorded the highest steps 531,342 followed by the ‘Education and Social Work’ accumulating 498,045 steps throughout this intervention. This intervention with prize incentive demonstrated a positive impact on employees personal and work-based outcomes as well as contributed to the workplace PA, health, and wellbeing literature, and more specifically, to the scarce research focused on university settings.

Introduction. The global shift towards digital education in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the landscape of higher education. Public health and social care programmes have adapted to this transformation, embracing online learning strategies to engage students. This study focuses on the assessment of online learning experiences in public health and social care education, particularly during the post-COVID-19 period. Materials and Methods. This qualitative study employed semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 49 university students in England. These phases, conducted both in person and via video, were audio and video recorded and transcribed verbatim. A purposive sampling technique was employed to gather data, and framework analysis facilitated data management and interpretation. Results. The presentation highlights three main themes and 12 accompanying sub-themes that capture the clear preferences of students for both in-person and online learning methods. The findings elucidate the merits and demerits of online learning strategies in contrast to traditional face-to-face classes. Online classes offer distinct advantages in terms of flexibility, cost-effectiveness, time efficiency, and technological proficiency. However, they also bring to the fore concerns related to social isolation, mental health challenges, technical challenges, and distractions within the home environment. Conclusion. Considering the global transition to digital education, this study contributes to the dynamic discourse surrounding online learning in the post-COVID-19 era. The diverse preferences expressed by students highlight the importance of personalised and flexible teaching methods in online education, underlining the need for adaptability and inclusivity to meet the diverse needs of todays learners.