A systematic scoping review of health-promoting interventions for contact centre employees examined through a behaviour change wheel lens

Bell, Zoe and Porcellato, Lorna and Holland, Paula and Morris, Abigail and Smith, Chloe and Haines, Charlotte and Graves, Lee (2024) A systematic scoping review of health-promoting interventions for contact centre employees examined through a behaviour change wheel lens. PLoS ONE, 19 (3): e0298150. ISSN 1932-6203

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Abstract

Purpose: Social determinants of health and poor working conditions contribute to excessive sickness absence and attrition in contact centre advisors. With no recent review conducted, the current scoping review is needed to investigate the volume, effectiveness, acceptability, and feasibility of health-promoting interventions for contact centre advisors. This will inform the adoption and implementation of evidence-based practice, and future research. Methods: Searches conducted across four databases (MEDLINE, PsycInfo, CINAHL, Web of Science) and reference checking in February 2023 identified health-promoting interventions for contact centre advisors. Extracted and coded data from eligible interventions were systematically synthesised using the nine intervention functions of the Behaviour Change Wheel and behaviour change technique taxonomy. Results: This scoping review identified a low number of high quality and peer-reviewed health-promoting intervention studies for contact centre advisors (28 studies since 2002). Most interventions were conducted in high-income countries with office-based advisors, predominantly using environmental restructuring and training strategies to improve health. Most interventions reported positive effectiveness results for the primary intended outcome, which were broadly organised into: i) health behaviours (sedentary behaviour, physical activity, smoking); ii) physical health outcomes (musculoskeletal health, visual health, vocal health, sick building syndrome); iii) mental health outcomes (stress, job control, job satisfaction, wellbeing). Few interventions evaluated acceptability and feasibility. Conclusion: There is little evidence on the effectiveness, acceptability, and feasibility of health-promoting interventions for contact centre advisors. Evidence is especially needed in low-to-middle income countries, and remote/hybrid, nightshift and older advisors, and advisors living with disability.