Margaret M. Weden, MHS, Population & Family Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, 3501 N. Calvert St. #3, Baltimore, MD 21218, 443-854-5536, mweden@jhsph.edu and Nan M. Astone, PhD, Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, 61 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205.

Psychosocial, cultural and structural factors are all important components which distinguish various work environments. Health behaviors, such as smoking, reflect the individual implications of occupational stress, social norms, and/or smoking policies associated with these work environments. In contrast to previous studies, our analysis directly tests the importance of structural and cultural conditions; it does not infer its importance without an actual indicator. Additionally, we have extended previous cross-sectional research by examining the behavioral implications of changes in psychosocial, cultural and structural work conditions from young adulthood through midlife using longitudinal data. We explore the relationship between job conditions and smoking cessation. Changes in the workplace and the likelihood of cessation are estimated for men and women among the three most prevalent US ethnic groups, using hazards models and data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979-1998. An index of occupational stress, contrasting the interaction between work demands and work latitude, is imputed from the 1995-1996 US National Survey of Midlife Development. Similarly, an index of smoking related work policies and an index of smoking related attitudes by occupation are imputed from the 1992 National Health Interview Survey. We find that high work demand and low latitude is associated with decreased cessation. Permissive smoking policies and attitudes are found to have an even stronger relationship to decreased cessation than occupational stress. Our analysis underscores the importance of further investment in policy and programs that address the cultural and structural environment of work by encouraging healthy co-worker attitudes and workplace policies.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be introduced to a model of environmental influences on health in which the role of workplace culture, as well as psychosocial conditions and policy structures, are assessed in relationship to health behavior.
• Researchers will learn new methods to combine information from multiple datasets in order to develop broader, multifaceted indicators of the work environment.
• Policy makers, program officers, and advocates will be able to identify the components of the work environment that are the strongest predictors of smoking cessation, and which require more targeted policy and programs.

Keywords: Workplace Stressors, Culture

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.