Worksite interventions can be effective for increasing fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption. Stages of Change (SC), a key construct of the Transtheoretical Model, is a useful planning tool when developing such programs. In preparation for a potential worksite intervention, 733 employees of a large blue collar manufacturing facility completed a 16-item, self-administered survey evaluating FV SC, FV intake/beliefs, and physical activity (PA). The sample was mostly male (66%) with at least some college education (73%). Mean age was 46.1. Forty-three percent were white, 23% African-American, 15% Latino, 16% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 4% other; all were English-speaking. Compared to the male California population at large, workers reported eating fewer mean servings of FV (3.2 vs. 3.7) and were less likely to report eating 5+ daily servings (19% vs. 30%). Only 18% of respondents were classified into the Maintenance or Action SC (MA), and two-thirds were in the Preparation stage. Workers in MA were twice as likely to believe in the recommendation for eating 5+ daily servings of FV (87% vs. 45%) than were other workers. The biggest barriers to eating more FV were “hard to get at work“ for those in MA and “not used to eating them,” followed by “hard to get at work” for those in pre-action stages. Fewer than 10% of respondents reported getting at least 30 minutes 5 or more days/week of leisure PA. This session will examine how findings about relationships between FV SC, FV intake/beliefs, and PA could be applied to designing a worksite intervention.
Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to: 1. Identify the elements needed for worksite assessment of nutrition and physical activity practices. 2. Describe how stages of change are determined and used to assess readiness for behavior change and need for intervention. 3. Discuss how stages of change can be used to tailor the delivery of dietary and physical activity intervention messages.
Keywords: Worksite, Needs Assessment
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.