This study will adapt an evidence-based health promotion program and assess its implementation and effectiveness in a high-risk population of workers. Preliminary results of an on-going randomized controlled intervention study suggest that a tailored telephone-delivered intervention is efficacious in increasing smoking cessation and fruit and vegetable consumption among construction laborers. The proposed study will adapt this intervention to promote tobacco use cessation and weight management in another population of blue-collar workers: motor freight workers, including truck drivers, dock workers and mechanics. Across multiple studies of workers, truck drivers have been repeatedly shown to have among the highest smoking rates and high rates of overweight. Because of the mobile nature of this work, worksite health promotion programs are generally inaccessible for these workers. We will survey motor freight workers in eight randomly selected trucking terminals, and invite respondents to participate in a telephone-delivered health promotion intervention, including tailored educational materials and five telephone counseling calls delivered over four months. We will evaluate factors associated with participation in the health promotion program and assess change in tobacco use and weight between the Baseline Survey and Final Survey in the entire study cohort, following the intention to treat principle. We will also evaluate individual and program factors associated with the change in tobacco use and weight among participants, and assess the costs associated with program implementation. This study will additionally examine the impact of the intervention on secondary outcomes indicative of worker health, including general health status and satisfaction with daily functioning, absenteeism, and attentiveness, and will assess determinants of behavior change, as measured by a set of modifying conditions and mediating mechanisms defined by the social contextual framework for health behavior change. This study is a partnership among the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and the Motor Freight Carriers Association (MFCA), the trade association of unionized motor freight carriers. This intervention has the potential to influence health behaviors among a high-risk population of workers, and shows promise for long-term sustainability and dissemination through close collaboration with our union and management partners.
