Purpose: This study examined the relationship between health risks, health behaviors, stages-of-change, and behavior change priorities among blue-collar women participating in a worksite health promotion study.
Design: Cross-sectional.
Setting: Rural manufacturing worksites in North Carolina.
Subjects: Participants were 859 women aged 18 and over.
Measures: The self-administered questionnaire assessed smoking, exercise, nutrition (fat, fruits, and vegetables), and breast and cervical cancer screening behaviors. In addition, demographics, body weight, perceived health, stages-of-change, and priority for behavior change were measured. Chi-square tests and regression analysis were used to assess statistical significance.
Results: Overall, 28% of women smoked, 37% were completely sedentary, 82% consumed less than five daily servings of fruits and vegetables, and the majority were overweight. The dominant stage of change for each of the lifestyle behaviors was contemplation, whereas most women were in the action stage for cancer screening. When asked to prioritize the behavior they most wanted to change, the majority of women chose healthy eating and/or exercise.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that blue-collar women in this study had multiple health risks and were interested in changing multiple health behaviors. Allowing women to choose the behavior(s) on which they are ready to focus may be a promising approach to tailoring interventions for this population.