Effects of a Tailored Health Promotion Program to Reduce Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Among Middle-Aged and Advanced-Age Bus Drivers

Abstract

A tailored health promotion program was developed and applied to reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors among middle-aged and advanced-age bus drivers. The participants were 248 bus drivers from 2 transportation companies, in whom the authors surveyed health behaviors (physical activity, diet, smoking habit, and alcohol consumption), health status (body mass index, systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein), and job stress. The tailored health promotion program consisted of exercise, diet, temperance, and smoking cessation education; the program was developed to reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors and was administered for 6 months. After the program, health behaviors, such as physical activity, dietary habits, smoking habits, and alcohol consumption, and health status indicators, such as blood pressure, had significantly improved (P < .05). The authors did not find an association between job stress and health behavior and status. This suggests that a tailored health promotion program for middle-aged and advanced-age bus drivers was effective.

Health initiatives to target obesity in surface transport industries: Review and implications for action

“…In comparison, programs that did not report significant outcomes in body composition tended to adopt a primarily individual-level approach, focusing on tailored and targeted health messages, educational materials, and counselling approaches only (e.g. Hwang et al 2012;Sorensen et al 2010). …”

“…Seven papers reported on a variety of dietary behaviours, including fruit and vegetable intake (French et al 2010a;French et al 2010b;Olson et al 2009;Sorensen et al 2010); dietary fat intake (French et al 2010a;French et al 2010b;Olson et al 2009); dietary sugar intake (French et al, 2010a;French et al 2010b;Olson et al 2009;Sorensen et al 2010;Wipfli et al 2013); consumption of fast food (Olson et al 2009;Wipfli 2013); and a more generalised account of changes in food choice and dietary habits over time (Gill and Wijk 2004;Hwang et al 2012). Again, findings were mixed, and the variation in outcome measures and the low number of studies makes comparison of common themes difficult.…”

“…Seven studies reported using one or more established theoretical framework to guide their intervention. Of the 13 studies, 6 were conducted in the trucking industry (Gill and Wijk 2004;Greene et al 2009;Mabry et al 2013;Olson et al 2009;Sorensen et al 2010;Wipfli et al 2013); one study considered both truck and bus drivers (Puhkala et al 2015); five looked at buses only (Davis et al 2009;French et al 2010a;French et al 2010b;Hwang et al 2012;Zavanela et al 2012); and one covered the rail industry (MacGregor 2009).…”

“…Two studies reported a positive change in food choice and dietary habits. Gill & Wijk (2004) successfully trained truck stop staff to act as proxy health promoters for healthy eating in truck drivers, and Hwang et al (2012) achieved positive change via a tailored health education initiative over six months in Korea.…”

“…Consistent with Table 1, Table 2 summarises the intervention or intervention strategies used in each study according to individual, environmental, or organisational-level categories. Where reported, the mean age of participants ranged from 41 years (Gill and Wijk 2004) to 56 (Hwang et al 2012), with an average age of 48 years. The findings of secondary as well as primary outcomes are also presented where reported, such as other clinical health-related indicators, or work indicators such as rates of absenteeism or cost.…”