Bus operator health: Best practices for protection and promotion

The NIOSH Total Worker Health model emphasizes the need for attending to population, job, and worksite characteristics, however industry-specific worksite health protection and promotion (WHPP) approaches have been lacking. In the face of a high prevalence of metabolic disorders and other health problems in bus operators, the Transportation Cooperative Research Program F-17 (Improving Transit Bus Operator Health, Wellness, and Retention) evaluated the state of practice in US and Canadian transit agencies and developed best practice guidelines. Transportation agencies and unions were surveyed and interviewed about their WHPP needs, practices, and plans. Practical experts from agencies and unions supported the development of best practices, based on intervention research and grey literature from around the world combined with the experience of transit agency wellness, HR and operations staff, bus operators and union representatives. Preliminary analysis strongly demonstrates the need to integrate occupational safety and health concerns in transit WHPP practice, and especially to modify conventional approaches to address the specific challenges of transit work, including the prevalence of multifactorial health problems, schedule pressure and work stress, and the mobile work environment. Although few agencies have adopted an integrated WHPP, most recognized the impact of operational demands, both on health and on program implementation. The process of collecting data has already both raised expectations and influenced current practice in informant organizations. The implementation of these proposed practices by transit organizations provides an opportunity to assess the impact of a collaborative transit-specific WHPP program that integrates individual, organizational, work organization and work environment concerns.