Health behaviors and overweight in nursing home employees: contribution of workplace stressors and implications for worksite health promotion

Details

• Personal Author:
  Boyer J ; Gore RJ ; Miranda H ; Nobrega S ; Punnett, Laura
• Description:
  BACKGROUND: Many worksite health promotion programs ignore the potential influence of working conditions on unhealthy behaviors. METHODS: A study of nursing home employees (56% nursing aides) utilized a standardized questionnaire. We analyzed the cross-sectional associations between workplace stressors and obesity, cigarette smoking, and physical inactivity. RESULTS: Of 1506 respondents, 20% reported exposure to three or more workplace stressors (physical or organizational), such as lifting heavy loads, low decision latitude, low coworker support, regular night work, and physical assault. For each outcome, the prevalence ratio was between 1.5 and 2 for respondents with four or five job stressors. Individuals under age 40 had stronger associations between workplace stressors and smoking and obesity. CONCLUSIONS: Workplace stressors were strongly associated with smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity, even among the lowest-status workers. Current working conditions affected younger workers more than older workers. Although this study is cross-sectional, it has other strengths, including the broad range of work stressors studied. Strenuous physical work and psychosocial strain are common among low-wage workers such as nursing home aides. Workplace health promotion programs may be more effective if they include measures to reduce stressful work environment features, so that working conditions support rather than interfere with employee health. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Health Personnel Health Promotion Occupational Health Safety Smokers Tobacco Products Violence Workplace
• Keywords:
  Cigarette Smoking Health Care Workers Health Promotion Manual Lifting Nurses Obesity Shift Workers Total Worker Health TWH Workplace Violence
• ISSN:
  1537-744X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  2015
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20047789
• Citation:
  Sci World J 2015 Aug; 2015:915359
• Contact Point Address:
  Laura Punnett, Department ofWork Environment & Center for the Promotion of Health in the New EnglandWorkplace (CPH-NEW), University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
• Email:
  laura_punnett@uml.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• NORA Priority Area:
  Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Performing Organization:
  University of Massachusetts, Lowell
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20060701
• Source Full Name:
  The Scientific World Journal
• End Date:
  20210831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:57001d6309ea639a9404c42bccd69160e7183f32a732c4a7ddb3b5ab196ba2478718e623cbe57e9ab90ea9cd314dce6eb61c094783ccc2a9c7f4a5ab6b80f068
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202765/cdc_202765_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.39 MB ]