Barriers and solutions to improving nutrition among fire academy recruits: a qualitative assessment

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Int J Food Sci Nutr
• Personal Author:
  Sotos-Prieto, Mercedes ; Jin, Qi ; Rainey, David ; Coyle, Maria ; Kales, Stefanos N.
• Description:
  The primary health concerns among US firefighters are cardiovascular disease, cancer, and depression and occur in an occupational setting where dietary habits are suboptimal. To understand if a diet or lifestyle modification works in a fire academy training setting, it is important to evaluate the cultural barriers and challenges that might be faced. A semi-structured telephone interview method followed by a focus group was used to gather common themes among fire service leaders. Twelve leaders participated in the telephonic interviews and a subset of five in the subsequent group session. Five main themes were identified. The study identified a need for staff and recruits to develop a cohesive culture that facilitates long-term change. Participants reported that incentives for good choices and the elimination of certain poor choices from the food environment would promote healthier choices. The study supports an intervention using education of fire recruits and modifications of the fire academy food environment.
• Subjects:
  Adult Diet Diet, Mediterranean Feeding Behavior Female Firefighters Focus Groups Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Humans Interviews As Topic Life Style Male Middle Aged Nutritional Status Occupational Diseases Occupational Health Qualitative Research

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• Source:
  Int J Food Sci Nutr. 70(6):771-779
• Pubmed ID:
  30764673
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC7811884
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  T42 OH008416/OH/NIOSH CDC HHS/United States
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• Volume:
  70
• Issue:
  6
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:6aba56d059187dac2e82bdc4db8a2533aebc1a7805fad6718d7994fdda9d747e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/100693/cdc_100693_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 83.50 KB ]