Work Organization, Health, and Obesity in Urban Transit Operators: A Qualitative Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Choi B-K ; Dobson M ; Schnall PL
• Description:
  Background: Urban transit operators have high rates of obesity, hypertension, and other cardiovascular risk-factors compared to other occupations. There have been few qualitative studies exploring the interrelationships between the organization of transit work, stress, and health including obesity, from the perspective of operators. Methods: Five focus groups were conducted at five Divisions in a transit authority in Southern California and included 65 bus and rail operators. Results: Operators reported a great deal of stress related to their work, including 1) time pressures and lack of recovery time; 2) long work shifts and overtime; 3) feeling unsafe when dealing with the public; 4) lack of respect from supervisors and management. Operators believed stressful working conditions negatively impacted their health and weight. Conclusion: This qualitative study yielded new as well as confirmatory data about stress and transit work organization, health, and weight in operators. This study will add to future survey research and interventions in this population. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Occupational Health Safety Shift Work Schedule Stress, Psychological
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Obesity Cardiovascular System Disorders Hypertension Job Stress Obesity Qualitative Research Shift Work Transit Operators Worker Health Work Organization Work Schedules Work Stress

  More +
• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  60
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050252
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2017 Nov; 60(11):991-1002
• Contact Point Address:
  Marnie Dobson, PhD, University of California, Irvine, 100 Theory, Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92617
• Email:
  mdobson@uci.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• Performing Organization:
  University of California Los Angeles
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8ebb4326f8209fc7c7719b9e1f274f0ddab67887c7e86966984226391e38a54ce0a1d4388861f351d91568e1ae823fdd408b8a48e8cea9fdbb8be4a6f93a3efc
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/210676/cdc_210676_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 446.30 KB ]