Promoting stair climbing in Barcelona: similarities and differences with interventions in English-speaking populations

This study evaluated the ability of three different messages to encourage stair climbing on the Barcelona underground. Two weeks of baseline were followed by three banner intervention periods with three different messages, each for a 2 week period. Follow-up data was gathered two weeks after removing the messages. Stair climbing increased overall [odds ratio (OR) = 1.45; 95% confidence intervals (CIs) = 1.25-1.68], with no statistical differences between the messages. During follow-up, stair climbing remained elevated (OR = 1.22; 95% CIs = 1.01-1.48). These preliminary data suggest stair climbing interventions, effective in the UK, may prove successful in Catalonia and Spain. Baseline differences, however, outline the magnitude of the task.