Suchergebnisse

Purpose. To examine worker characteristics explicated in our social-contextual intervention model that might be associated with participation in a cancer prevention intervention. These characteristics included sociodemographic variables, mediating mechanisms, and modifying conditions. Methods. Randomized, controlled study in 24 small multiethnic manufacturing worksites. Analyses were conducted on an embedded cohort of 456 employees in the intervention condition, incorporating the clustering of respondents in worksites using generalized linear mixed modeling methods. The intervention was based on an inclusive, comprehensive social-contextual model targeting fruit, vegetable, and red meat consumption, multivitamin use, and physical activity. Results. Gender (p = .02) and self-efficacy (p < .01) were associated with participation. There were no differences in participation by race/ethnicity or occupational status. We observed no associations between participation of individual workers in intervention activities and health behavior change. Conclusions. The intervention attracted workers across racial/ethnic and occupational groups. The combination of a comprehensive intervention with wide diffusion of program messages may have been more powerful in influencing participation and behavior change than characteristics of individual employees.

Purpose. To examine occupational differences in social influences supporting quitting smoking and their relationships to intentions and self-efficacy to quit smoking and to quitting. Design. Data were collected as part of a large worksite cancer prevention intervention trial. Setting. Forty-four worksites. Subjects. Subjects included 2626 smokers from a total baseline survey sample of 11,456 employees (response rate = 63%). Measures. Differences by job category in social support for quitting, pressure to quit smoking, rewards for quitting, and nonacceptability of smoking were measured using mixed model analysis of variance and the Cochran–Mantel–Haenszel test. Their association to self-efficacy, intention to quit, and quitting smoking was assessed using mixed model analysis of variance and linear logistic regression modeling. Results. Compared with other workers, blue-collar workers reported less pressure to quit ( p = .0001), social support for quitting ( p = .0001), and nonacceptability of smoking among their coworkers ( p < .001). Intention to quit was associated with higher levels of social pressure to quit smoking ( p = .0001) and social support for quitting ( p = .002). Self-efficacy was associated with social pressure to quit ( p = .0001), social support for quitting ( p = .004), and perceiving greater rewards for quitting ( p = .0001). Conclusions. Although these results are limited somewhat by response and attrition rates, these results suggest that differing social environments may contribute to the differences by occupational category in smoking prevalence and smoking cessation.

Purpose. To examine the relationships between worksite interpersonal influences and smoking and quitting behavior among adolescent workers. Design. The cross-sectional survey assessed factors influencing tobacco use behavior. Setting. During the fall of 1998, data were collected from 10 grocery stores in Massachusetts that were owned and managed by the same company. Subjects. Eligible participants included 474 working adolescents ages 15 to 18. Eighty-three percent of workers (n = 379) completed the survey. Measures. The self-report questionnaire assessed social influences, social norms, social support, friendship networks, stage of smoking and quitting behavior, employment patterns, and demographic factors. Results. Thirty-five percent of respondents were never smokers, 21% experimental, 5% occasional, 18% regular, and 23% former smokers. Using analysis of variance (ANOVA), results indicate that regular smokers were 30% more likely than experimental or occasional smokers to report coworker encouragement to quit (p = .0002). Compared with regular smokers, never smokers were 15% more likely to report greater nonacceptability of smoking (p = .01). χ2 tests of association revealed no differences in friendship networks by stage of smoking. Conclusions. These data provide evidence for the need to further explore social factors inside and outside the work environment that influence smoking and quitting behavior among working teens. Interpretations of the data are limited because of cross-sectional and self-report data collection methods used in one segment of the retail sector.

Purpose.Spillover is the effect of one role on another as working adults attempt to integrate demands from work and family. We conducted a survey to understand how worker, job, and family characteristics were related to negative work-to-family spillover and how spillover was related to fruit and vegetable consumption to inform intervention design.Design.A combined mail and telephone survey.Setting.A national random sample in the United States.Subjects.1108 (44% response) unionized construction laborers.Measures.Personal characteristics, job factors, family factors, work-to-family spillover, and fruit and vegetable consumption.Analysis.Multivariable logistic and least-squares regression.Results.A range of 20% to 50% of respondents reported negative work-to-family spillover, agreeing that work demands, time, fatigue, and stress interfered with family meals or food choices. Higher spillover was associated with job factors, being of white race/ethnicity, and having children at home. Lower fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with higher work-to-family spillover (p = .002), being of white race or ethnicity (p < .0001), and working the graveyard or day shift (p = .02).Conclusion.Negative experience of work-to-family spillover may link employment to fruit and vegetable consumption and thus to worker health. Understanding the contribution of spillover to fruit and vegetable consumption aids understanding of how work experience affects health.

Purpose. To examine the external validity of an efficacious tailored smoking cessation and nutrition improvement telephone intervention. Design. Comparison of characteristics of participants and nonparticipants (representativeness); examination of the extent of intervention implementation. Setting. Cancer center collaboration with a labor union. Subjects. Unionized construction laborers. Intervention. Tailored feedback report, telephone counseling, and supplementary educational materials focused on smoking cessation and improved nutrition. Measures. Background survey identifying socio-demographic and behavioral characteristics; process evaluation data; and final efficacy survey to determine participant satisfaction. Analysis. Cross-classification and the X2 test of homogeneity were used with categorically measured variables comparing participants and nonparticipants. We compared the means in the two groups for continuously scaled measures using the Student t-test and investigated the multivariable association of the characteristics of participation with a multiple logistic regression. For process data we present frequencies, percentages, and means. Results. Characteristics associated with participation included self-efficacy to change fruit and vegetable consumption (p = .0009) and self-identification with union's problems (p = 0.05). Eighty-six percent of non-smokers and 61% of smokers completed between 1 and 4 counseling sessions. Over one-half of non-smokers (61%) and smokers (53%) completed 4 or more calls and more smokers (34%) than non-smokers (11%) completed the 5+ sessions. Conclusions. These results provide a snapshot of characteristics of construction laborers to whom this intervention can be generalized and indicators of feasibility necessary for translating research into practice.

Purpose.To examine behavioral patterns and sociodemographic predictors of diet, inactivity, and tobacco use among a diverse sample of residents from low-income housing developments.Design.In this cross-sectional survey study, households and residents were randomly selected using multistage cluster sampling.Setting.The study was conducted in 20 low-income housing developments in the Boston, Massachusetts, metropolitan area.Subjects.Subjects were 828 residents who completed the survey (response rate = 49.3%). Forty-one percent of participants were Hispanic and 38% were non-Hispanic Black.Measures.Outcomes measured were diet, inactivity, and tobacco use. Predictors measured were age, race/ethnicity, gender, education, country in which the subject was born, language spoken, and financial hardship.Analysis.Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association of three health behaviors with sociodemographic factors.Results.Age, gender, language spoken, and financial hardship showed significant relationships with all three behaviors. For example, those who reported less financial hardship (odds ratio [OR] = 1.75) were more likely to eat healthier. Residents who spoke no English, or at least one language in addition to English, were significantly more likely to report healthier eating (OR = 2.78 and 3.30, respectively) than those who spoke English only. Men were significantly more likely to report less healthy eating (OR = 0.65) than were women. Similar trends emerged for inactivity and tobacco use.Conclusion.Effective health promotion interventions in low-income housing developments that leverage protective factors while addressing risk factors have the potential to reduce income-related health disparities in these concentrated resource-deprived neighborhoods.