An Inter-Disciplinary Bio-Psycho-Social Intervention for Promotion of Wellness among Women Employees: A Comparative Pre-Post Study on Occupational Dynamics, Metabolic Risk and Physical Activity Supported By Rusa

Abstract

Background: Women employees of higher educational institutions face varied occupational demands, sedentary exposure, dietary challenges, and psychological pressure. An integrated workplace wellness model can tackle these factors collectively, rather than treating physical, nutritional and psychological health as separate concerns. Objective: To assess a university-based bio-psycho-social wellness program among female employees and to compare selected anthropometric, metabolic and cardiovascular indicators pre- and post-participation. To characterise baseline physical-activity and sitting patterns across occupational groups. Methods: This prospective pre-post interventional cohort study was conducted in RUSA project “Integrated Bio-Psycho-Social Approach in Ensuring Wellness among Women” in Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam, Tirupati. The cohort consisted of 150 women aged 30–62 years: teaching (n=53), non-teaching (n=46) and janitorial (n=51). The intervention consisted of 40 days of structured physical activity, 40 minutes a day, and one workshop of nutritional awareness and one of psychological awareness. Body mass index, body fat, basal metabolic rate, blood glucose and blood pressure were measured before and after the program. Results: At baseline, 59.3% reported regular physical activity while 40.7% reported no regular exercise. 77.3% reported sitting for more than three hours per day. Mean BMI decreased from 28.32±5.22 to 27.71±5.02 kg/m², body fat from 39.15±9.66% to 37.23±9.40%, blood glucose from 124.95±47.70 to 115.37±37.97 mg/dL, systolic blood pressure from 123.58±16.64 to 119.32±14.55 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure from 77.08±10.32 to 74.07±9.12 mmHg. BMR was decreased from 1387.41±211.51 to 1380.50±210.44 kcal/day. The project analysis reports that these measures differed statistically significantly pre-post. Conclusion: The program was feasible in a university workplace and was associated with positive short-term changes in a number of health indicators measured. The results are promising for institutional wellness planning, but the single-group pre–post design does not allow for definitive causal attribution. Controlled studies are required with long-term follow-up.