Healthcare workers' participation in a healthy-lifestyle-promotion project in western Sweden
2011

Healthcare Workers' Participation in a Health Promotion Project

Sample size: 1859 publication 10 minutes Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Ingibjörg H. Jonsdottir, Mats Börjesson, Gunnar Ahlborg Jr

Primary Institution: The Institute of Stress Medicine, Gothenburg, Sweden

Hypothesis

Do healthcare workers with poorer lifestyle-related health engage more in health-promotion activities than those with healthier lifestyles?

Conclusion

Healthcare workers are not more likely to participate in health promotion programs compared to other working populations, despite their knowledge of health-related issues.

Supporting Evidence

  • The participation rate in the health promotion program was around 21%.
  • Women had a higher participation rate (23%) compared to men (11%).
  • Sedentary individuals were less likely to participate in physical activity themes.

Takeaway

This study found that healthcare workers don't join health programs more than other workers, even though they know a lot about health.

Methodology

A biennial questionnaire survey was conducted among public healthcare employees in western Sweden, with a response rate of 61% at baseline and 94% at follow-up.

Potential Biases

Potential bias due to self-reported health behaviors and the non-targeted nature of the health promotion program.

Limitations

The study only included public-sector employees, limiting comparisons with private-sector workers.

Participant Demographics

{"total_participants":3207,"gender_distribution":{"women":2772,"men":435},"age_distribution":{"18-34":461,"35-44":801,"45-54":1104,"55+":841}}

Statistical Information

P-Value

p<0.05

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/1471-2458-11-448

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