The Association Between Men's Heath Behaviors and Interest in Workplace Health Promotion

Factors Influencing the Degree of Employee Involvement in Preventive Nutrition and Physical Activity Web-Based Programs in Medium and Small Enterprises

This cross-sectional study was part of a comprehensive workplace health promotion program (WHPP) implemented in the work environment of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Western Slovenia, which included web-based educational campaigns aimed at promoting positive lifestyle changes among workers, including healthy eating habits and physical activity. As part of this program, which included campaigns in the areas of stress management, ergonomics, sleep hygiene, communication, work climate, and absenteeism, we developed and examined the engagement frequency in web-based content on healthy eating and physical activity for the companies included in the WHPP. This part of the project lasted from 2020 to 2022. Prior to the educational campaign, participants voluntarily completed a screening questionnaire. We analyzed the patterns of 370 workers in terms of their job classification (predominantly sedentary, predominantly standing, or predominantly physical), body mass index (BMI), gender, age, and selected indicators of diet and physical activity. Of the 88 companies participating in the WHPP, 26 took part in our web-based educational campaigns on nutrition and physical activity. Through an empirical analysis using descriptive and inferential statistics and a linear regression, we found that, on average, the engagement frequency (i.e., proportion of educational personal e-mails read) was highest among men with sedentary work, with older employees participating more actively than expected. Moreover, workers with good dietary habits and a favorable BMI proved to be the most avid readers of the web-based campaigns. Despite the overall low participant engagement frequency, it is clear that web-based educational campaigns are more appealing to workers with sedentary jobs and good dietary habits. This study provides valuable information on the potential effectiveness of appropriate workplace health promotion campaigns for SMEs and public health practices.

Socioeconomic status and sleep health: a narrative synthesis of 3 decades of empirical research

STUDY OBJECTIVES

This review aims to assess the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and sleep health in the general population and the mediating effects of lifestyle and mental and physical health in this relationship.

METHODS

Observational studies testing the independent association between objective or subjective SES indicators and behavioral/physiological or clinical sleep health variables in the general population were included. PubMed/MEDLINE was searched for reports published from January 1990 to December 2019. The direction of effect was used as the primary effect measure, testing the hypothesis that low SES is associated with poor sleep health outcomes. Results are presented in the form of direction effect plots and synthesized as binomial proportions.

RESULTS

Overall, 336 studies were identified. A high proportion of effects at the expected direction was noted for measures of sleep continuity (100% for sleep latency, 50-100% for awakenings, 66.7-100% for sleep efficiency), symptoms of disturbed sleep (75-94.1% for insomnia, 66.7-100% for sleep-disordered breathing, 60-100% for hypersomnia), and general sleep satisfaction (62.5-100%), while the effect on sleep duration was inconsistent and depended on the specific SES variable (92.3% for subjective SES, 31.7% for employment status). Lifestyle habits, chronic illnesses, and psychological factors were identified as key mediators of the SES-sleep relationship.

CONCLUSIONS

Unhealthy behaviors, increased stress levels, and limited access to health care in low-SES individuals may explain the SES-sleep health gradient. However, the cross-sectional design of most studies and the high heterogeneity in employed measures of SES and sleep limit the quality of evidence. Further research is warranted due to important implications for health issues and policy changes.

CITATION

Papadopoulos D, Etindele Sosso FA. Socioeconomic status and sleep health: a narrative synthesis of 3 decades of empirical research. J Clin Sleep Med. 2023;19(3):605-620.

Towards A Socioeconomic Model of Sleep Health among the Canadian Population: A Systematic Review of the Relationship between Age, Income, Employment, Education, Social Class, Socioeconomic Status and Sleep Disparities

A better understanding of the contribution of the socioeconomic status (SES) in sleep health could guide the development of population-based interventions aiming to reduce “the silent public health issue” that are sleep disturbances. PRISMA was employed to identify relevant studies having examined the association between social class, social capital, education, income/assets, occupation/employment status, neighborhood deprivation and sleep health. Sixteen cross-sectional and three longitudinal studies were selected, having sampled 226,029 participants aged from 2 months to 85 years old. Findings showed that: (1) sleep health disparities among children and adolescent are strongly correlated to parental socioeconomic indicators; (2) poor parental income, poor family SES and poor parental education are associated with higher sleep disturbances among children and adolescents; (3) lower education is a predictor of increased sleep disturbances for adults; (4) low SES is associated with high sleep disturbances in adults and old people and; (5) low income and full-time employment was significantly associated with short sleep among adults and old people. In conclusion, sleep health should be an important public health target. Such intervention would be beneficial for populational health, for all taxpayers and public administrations, which would see a reduction in absenteeism and productivity losses attributable to sleep-related health problems in the global economy.

Entorno laboral saludable en Asia y América del Norte revisión de alcance

Objetivos Realizar una revisión de alcance sobre entorno laboral saludable (ELS) en países de Asia y América del Norte. Métodos Revisión de documentos de diversos diseños metodológicos resultantes de la matriz PRISMA obtenidos en bases de datos como Scopus, PubMed, Biblioteca Virtual de la Salud (BVS) y otros motores de búsqueda entre los años 2015 y 2020 empleando los descriptores Healthy, Workplace, Enviroment Work y conectores AND y OR. Resultados Se obtuvo un total de 36 documentos finales. El 66,7% de los estudios encontrados fueron en países de América del Norte. El 44,4% de las publicaciones se realizaron en el año 2019 y 2020. Se halló que la base de datos que más arrojó publicaciones acerca de ELS fue Scopus y la revista que más publicó fue BVS; igualmente los temas más relevantes para alcanzar ELS fueron la promoción de la salud en el lugar de trabajo mediante la intervención de estrategias encaminadas a los estilos de vida saludables y el impacto de la productividad. Conclusiones Las estrategias de ELS permiten que los programas de promoción de la salud sean implementados en las empresas con el fin de mejorar los estilos de vida y las condiciones laborales de los trabajadores, incentivando la actividad física, la alimentación balanceada, disminuyendo la ingesta de bebidas alcohólicas y el tabaquismo. Los ELS se relaciona con la mejora continua debido a que favorece el aumento de la productividad y por ende es importante que se puedan implementar en el contexto de la educación, negocios, comercio y desarrollo económico.

Health-Related and Lifestyle Factors as Predictors of Intentions to Improve Lifestyle Habits in Employees Participating in a Workplace Health Promotion Program

OBJECTIVES

To explore employees' intentions to improve lifestyle habits, investigate the health and lifestyle-related predictors of these intentions, and how it translated into behavioral improvement.

METHODS

Employees participating in the Activate Your Health WHPP completed a questionnaire of their demographics, health-related variables, as well as six lifestyle habits and intention to improve them.

RESULTS

At baseline (n = 2729), most employees wanted to focus on physical activity and eating habits. Many predictors were identified for each intention. Majority of intentions were associated with behavioral improvement post-program (n = 525), especially in High.

CONCLUSIONS

In the context of WHPPs, intention to improve may lead to actual behavioral improvement. Exploring employees' intentions to improve various lifestyle habits at the start of the program could improve the effectiveness of these programs.

Accessing Voluntary HIV Testing in the Construction Industry: A Qualitative Analysis of Employee Interviews from the Test@Work Study

HIV, globally, remains a significant public health issue and community HIV testing can help to identify those with HIV at an early stage of disease. The workplace offers a prime location for provision of opt-in HIV testing as part of wider health promotion initiatives. The construction industry offers a key opportunity for HIV testing provision in a generally male-dominated group exhibiting some risky behaviors related to HIV. The intervention was an optional one-off individual health check with tailored health advice and signposting, offered to the construction workforce in health check events delivered as part of a large-scale multi-site research program called Test@Work. The events were undertaken at 10 participating organizations (21 events across 16 different sites), none had previously offered sexual health awareness or HIV testing to their workforce. Participants were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview following general health checks which included HIV testing. Out of 426 employees attending the health check events, 338 (79.3%) consented to interview on exit. Accessing HIV testing at work was valued because it was convenient, quick, and compatible with work demands. Interviewees identified HIV risks for construction including drug use, high numbers of sexual partners and job-related exposures, e.g., to used needles. Health seeking in construction was limited by stigma and low support, with particular barriers for non-permanent workers. The organization of the construction industry is complex with multiple organizations of different sizes having responsibility for varying numbers of employees. A disparity between organizational policies and employment circumstances is evident, and this generates significant health inequalities. To combat this, we recommend that organizations in the construction sector offer their employees awareness-raising around health behaviors and health protection in packages, such as toolbox talks. We recommend these be accompanied by annual health checks, including sexual health awareness and opt-in workplace HIV testing. This approach is highly acceptable to the workforce in the industry and removes barriers to access to healthcare.

A population-based study of health-promoting behaviors and their predictors in Iranian males, 2019

BACKGROUND

Health-promoting lifestyle (HPL) is any measure taken to maintain a person's health. The most important and influential factor in maintaining and enhancing health are health-promoting behaviors (HPB). This study aimed to determine HPB and their predictors among Iranian men.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 783 Iranian men, living in Tehran, were selected, using multistage cluster sampling. The employed questionnaires, namely the sociodemographic questionnaire, Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP-II), and the second part of the Personal Resource Questionnaire (PRQ 85-Part 2), were completed through interviews. The relationship between the dependent variables (HPLP-II and its subdomains) and independent variables (sociodemographic characteristics and social support) was investigated using the adjusted General Linear Model (GLM).

RESULTS

The mean ± standard deviation of the total HPLP-II score was 2.72 ± 0.44 in the range of 1-4. Among the six dimensions of the HPB, the participants achieved the highest score (3.00 ± 0.52) and lowest score (1.96 ± 0.56) in spiritual growth and physical activity, respectively. The Pearson test showed that the perceived social support was significantly correlated with HPLP-II (r = 0.23; p < 0.001) and all of its subdomains (r = 0.09-0.24; p < 0.001). Based on the adjusted general linear model, social support, age, job, and income adequacy were the predictors of HPL in men and could explain 30.9% of the variance of the HPL score.

CONCLUSIONS

The research findings confirmed the importance of social support and modifying variables (social and personal) in the incidence of HPB in men.