Healthy Eating in the Australian Coal Mining Industry: Assessing the Efficacy of the ‘Out of the Box’ Workplace Health Promotion Program
Noncommunicable diseases are the world’s leading cause of death. To curb the global rise in these diseases, using the workplace as a front to disseminate health communication messages and resources has been suggested. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a workplace health promotion program, ‘...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Nutrients |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/14/3254 |
| _version_ | 1797587856855662592 |
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| author | Aaron Bezzina Lee Ashton Trent Watson Carole L. James |
| author_facet | Aaron Bezzina Lee Ashton Trent Watson Carole L. James |
| author_sort | Aaron Bezzina |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Noncommunicable diseases are the world’s leading cause of death. To curb the global rise in these diseases, using the workplace as a front to disseminate health communication messages and resources has been suggested. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a workplace health promotion program, ‘Out of the Box’, that targeted nutrition outcomes and nutrition guideline knowledge. A 6-month workplace health promotion program was implemented within a coal mine site. Over the 6 months, there were four wellness focus areas, lasting 1 month each, including fruits, vegetables and portion controlling, label reading, alcohol awareness, and hydration promotion. The study utilized a quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test design, with measurements via self-reported paper-based surveys. At baseline there were 163 responses, and 106 at follow-up. At the 6-month follow-up, respondents had increased odds of recalling the current fruit (OR 1.29, <i>p</i> = 0.032) and vegetable (OR 1.76, <i>p</i> < 0.001) guidelines. Being male was associated with lower vegetable intake (B: −0.28), although this did not reach statistical significance. A nutrition-focused workplace health promotion program can be an efficacious strategy in improving knowledge of fruit and vegetable guidelines. Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs over time. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:45:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-49a75185fe4443e5921a069e9b3b2186 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6643 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:45:52Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nutrients |
| spelling | doaj.art-49a75185fe4443e5921a069e9b3b21862023-11-18T20:49:29ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432023-07-011514325410.3390/nu15143254Healthy Eating in the Australian Coal Mining Industry: Assessing the Efficacy of the ‘Out of the Box’ Workplace Health Promotion ProgramAaron Bezzina0Lee Ashton1Trent Watson2Carole L. James3Centre for Resources Health and Safety, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, AustraliaSchool of Health Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, AustraliaSchool of Health Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, AustraliaSydney School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, AustraliaNoncommunicable diseases are the world’s leading cause of death. To curb the global rise in these diseases, using the workplace as a front to disseminate health communication messages and resources has been suggested. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a workplace health promotion program, ‘Out of the Box’, that targeted nutrition outcomes and nutrition guideline knowledge. A 6-month workplace health promotion program was implemented within a coal mine site. Over the 6 months, there were four wellness focus areas, lasting 1 month each, including fruits, vegetables and portion controlling, label reading, alcohol awareness, and hydration promotion. The study utilized a quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test design, with measurements via self-reported paper-based surveys. At baseline there were 163 responses, and 106 at follow-up. At the 6-month follow-up, respondents had increased odds of recalling the current fruit (OR 1.29, <i>p</i> = 0.032) and vegetable (OR 1.76, <i>p</i> < 0.001) guidelines. Being male was associated with lower vegetable intake (B: −0.28), although this did not reach statistical significance. A nutrition-focused workplace health promotion program can be an efficacious strategy in improving knowledge of fruit and vegetable guidelines. Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs over time.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/14/3254coal miningnutritionfruitvegetableknowledgehealth promotion |
| spellingShingle | Aaron Bezzina Lee Ashton Trent Watson Carole L. James Healthy Eating in the Australian Coal Mining Industry: Assessing the Efficacy of the ‘Out of the Box’ Workplace Health Promotion Program Nutrients coal mining nutrition fruit vegetable knowledge health promotion |
| title | Healthy Eating in the Australian Coal Mining Industry: Assessing the Efficacy of the ‘Out of the Box’ Workplace Health Promotion Program |
| title_full | Healthy Eating in the Australian Coal Mining Industry: Assessing the Efficacy of the ‘Out of the Box’ Workplace Health Promotion Program |
| title_fullStr | Healthy Eating in the Australian Coal Mining Industry: Assessing the Efficacy of the ‘Out of the Box’ Workplace Health Promotion Program |
| title_full_unstemmed | Healthy Eating in the Australian Coal Mining Industry: Assessing the Efficacy of the ‘Out of the Box’ Workplace Health Promotion Program |
| title_short | Healthy Eating in the Australian Coal Mining Industry: Assessing the Efficacy of the ‘Out of the Box’ Workplace Health Promotion Program |
| title_sort | healthy eating in the australian coal mining industry assessing the efficacy of the out of the box workplace health promotion program |
| topic | coal mining nutrition fruit vegetable knowledge health promotion |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/14/3254 |
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