The views of general practitioners about using sit-stand desks: An observational study

Background Occupational sitting is associated with negative health outcomes. Sit-stand workstations have been shown to reduce sitting time in office workers, although there is no evidence on whether this change to practice would be acceptable to GPs.

Aim To investigate GPs views about the use of sit-stand desks within general practice and the potential impact they may have on the nature and quality of consultations with adult patients.

Design & setting Observational study involving GPs located across the United Kingdom.

Method A online survey was emailed to members of the Royal College of General Practitioners and shared on social media. Only GPs working in the UK were eligible. The survey included questions on socio-demographics, GPs views about the use of sit-stand desks within their work, their levels of physical activity, total time spent sitting each day at work and time spent at work.

Results 14,142 surveys were sent by RCGP to their members with 810 GPs responding with a further 33 responding via social media. 60.6% of GPs would like a sit-stand desks in their consultation room, while 19.2% already had one. Most GPs thought sit-stand desks could be used for telephone consultations (91.9%) and administration tasks (92.3%). There was less agreement about whether they could be used during face-to-face consultations (35% agreed), with the potential impact on the doctor-patient relationship raised as the primary concern.

Conclusion The implementation of sit-stand desks had support from GPs, but their possible impact on the doctor-patient relationship should be considered in future research.