A Qualitative Study of the Feasibility and Acceptability of Implementing 'Sit-To-Stand' Desks in Vocational Education and Training

While it has been shown that interrupting a person’s sedentary behaviour has the potentialto improve cognitive, physical and mental health, a large part of time that students spend in schoolis sedentary. As research has shown that approximately 80% of vocational education and training(VET) students have an unhealthy sedentary lifestyle, implementing “sit-to-stand” (StS) desks couldinterrupt sedentary behaviour and promote healthier behaviour. Therefore, the acceptability andfeasibility of using such desks in the VET setting should be investigated. Using semi-structuredfocus group interviews analysed via deductive content analysis, the opinions of 33 students for thefollowing topics were assessed: (1) usage of the standing option of the desks (2) reasons for standingin class (3) experienced effect of standing behind the desk, and (4) fostering future StS desks usage.Although VET students are aware of the potential benefits of using StS desks, they need to be activelystimulated and motivated by teachers to use them. In addition, time is needed to get into the habit ofstanding. Thus, for successful implementation of StS desks in the VET setting, all stakeholders (i.e.,students, teachers, schoolboards) should be actively involved in stimulating the healthy behaviour ofVET students.