The purpose of this study is to prepare for the dissemination of an evidence-based intervention promoting smoking cessation and weight management among blue- collar workers through the joint labor-management health and welfare funds that insure them. This study builds from our current research funded under the CDC Health Protection Research Initiative; we are testing a tailored, telephone-delivered intervention to promote smoking cessation and weight management among blue-collar workers. Tobacco use and overweight are major contributors to mortality in the U.S., and are especially elevated among blue-collar workers. Our current study specifically addresses the elevated risks of motor freight workers, including truck drivers and dockworkers, using a quasi-experimental design, in collaboration with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Our baseline data indicated that 29% of these workers were smokers, and 41% were obese. The proposed study relies on a solid body of evidence, including through our prior research and forthcoming results from our ongoing study. As a next logical step in this research, the proposed study puts into place several necessary steps toward building for dissemination of this intervention through health and welfare funds (H&W funds). Labor-management H&W funds provide health insurance to 10 million unionized workers, retirees, and their dependents through some 1,600 separate funds in the U.S. In collaboration with the Teamsters and a collaborating H&W funds, we will adapt the tested program products and intervention protocol for implementation on a larger scale. Modifications to the current intervention are necessary to bring it to a scale that can be broadly delivered in a cost-efficient manner. We will additionally work with the Teamsters and collaborating H&W fund to design strategies to promote this intervention effectively through H&W fund channels. In addition, we will conduct a pilot study to evaluate the implementation of the adapted program through this channel. This quasi-experimental study will assess reach, intervention implementation, and participant outcomes. We will additionally assess organizational readiness among Teamsters-affiliated H&W funds through a series of key informant interviews. We believe this pilot study provides an essential developmental step that will help us better understand the process and outcomes of dissemination through this channel a step which we believe will increase the likelihood of eventual program adoption and sustainability. ? ? ? ?
| Quintiliani, Lisa; Stoddard, Anne; Lederman, Ruth et al. (2012) Dissemination of a tobacco cessation program for unionized workers. Fam Community Health 35:246-55 |
