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Objective: Motor vehicle incidents or apparatus crashes are a leading cause of firefighter fatalities in the United States. Nonuse of seat belts has been linked to some of these fatalities. This research seeks to understand the relationship between safety climate and seat belt use among firefighters, as findings will provide insights into factors that may bolster seat belt use and protect firefighters. Methods: Data were collected from 208 career firefighters working for a city fire department in the southeastern United States. Structural equation modeling was used to test a hypothesized model and to assess the relationships between organizational safety climate, work group safety climate and seat belt use. Results: It was determined that positive perceptions of workgroup safety climate, as a higher order factor, comprised of supervisor support, horizontal cohesion, and vertical cohesion, was positively associated with seat belt use within a sample of firefighters. Organizational level safety climate did not have a significant relationship with seat belt use but did positively influence workgroup safety climate perceptions. Conclusions: Safety climate has been associated with safety compliance and participation behaviors, but more research was needed to specifically examine the impact of safety climate on seat belt use in firefighters. The findings point to the importance of safety climate as a leading indicator and predictor of seat belt use. Bolstering safety climate through safety programs, commitment to safety, effective communication, supportive supervisors and cohesion should ultimately aid in bolstering seat belt use among firefighters, which is important to curtailing firefighter injuries and fatalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is currently much interest in exploring environmental approaches to combat weight gain and obesity. This study presents process evaluation results from a workplace-based study that tested two levels of environmentally focused weight management interventions in a manufacturing setting. The moderate treatment featured a set of relatively simple, low-cost environmental modifications designed to facilitate healthy eating and physical activity; the intense treatment added elements intended to actively involve and engage management in program efforts. Fidelity varied across the 11 interventions comprising the two treatment conditions but did not vary systematically by treatment condition (moderate vs. intense). Environmental assessments showed improvements in workplace supports for weight management and significant differences by treatment level. Positive shifts in health climate perceptions also occurred, but sites receiving the intense treatment were not perceived as more supportive by employees. Challenges and limitations associated with environmental interventions are discussed with specific reference to activating management support. (Contains 7 tables.)

In response to calls to reinvent the 5 A Day fruit and vegetable campaign, this study assesses the utility of VALS[TM], a consumer-based audience segmentation tool that divides the U.S. population into groups leading similar lifestyles. The study examines whether the impact of theory of planned behavior (TPB) constructs varies across VALS groups in a cross-sectional sample of 1,588 U.S. adults. In a multigroup structural equation model, the VALS audience group variable moderated latent TPB relationships. Attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control explained 57% to 70% of the variation in intention to eat fruit and vegetables across 5 different VALS groups. Perceived behavioral control and intention also predicted self-reported consumption behavior (R[superscript 2] = 20% to 71% across VALS groups). Bivariate "z" tests were calculated to determine statistical differences in parameter estimates across groups. Nine of the bivariate "z" tests were statistically significant (p less than or equal to 0.04), with standardized coefficients ranging from 0.05 to 0.70. These findings confirm the efficacy of using the TPB to explain variation in fruit and vegetable consumption as well as the validity of using a consumer-based algorithm to segment audiences for fruit and vegetable consumption messaging. (Contains 4 tables and 3 notes.)

Safety-specific passive leadership has been negatively linked to diminished safety outcomes, including safety behaviors. However, this relationship is not fully understood. Research has not fully examined mediating factors that may be influenced by passive leadership, which then influence safety behaviors. Research among firefighters in this context is particularly absent. As such, this study aimed to examine relationships between safety-specific passive leadership, stress, anxiety, and compliance-oriented safety behavior outcomes among 708 professional firefighters. A path analysis was completed. The hypothesized model fit was very good and hypothesized relationships were confirmed. Safety-specific passive leadership was positively, significantly associated with increased firefighter stress perceptions and stress was positively, significantly associated with anxiety. Anxiety was negatively, significantly associated with both safety compliance and personal protective equipment behavior. This study has implications for researchers and practitioners. The findings emphasize the importance of active leaders in the fire service as passive leadership in the context of safety is distressing, which results in anxiety and ultimately diminished safety behavior outcomes, which could place firefighters at risk for injuries, illness, or death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was conducted to assess a healthy work organization intervention implemented in a retail setting. Employee teams in 11 intervention stores developed customized plans for improving work organization using a participatory process. Findings indicate that intervention stores fared better than controls on general indices of perceived health and safety.

This paper presents an initial test and validation of a model of healthy work organization. A questionnaire based on the proposed model was completed by 1,130 employees of a national retailer. The instrument measured 29 first-order constructs underlying the six higher-order domains of the model. The overall model fit and relationships among the second-order factors were examined using AMOS structural equation-modelling procedures. The structural analyses presented here support the proposed model. An acceptable overall fit was demonstrated, and all second-order, and second- to first-order, relationships were significant. Employees' perceptions of their organization affect their perception of the climate, which impacts the way people relate to their job and see their future in the organization, ultimately impacting their work adjustment, health and well-being. This model has implications for both research and practice., Work organization has emerged as a priority topic among those who study the work-health relationship. Work organization generally refers to the way work processes are structured and managed, such as [...]