141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

278646
Impact of a workplace program on alcohol use and smoking among young adults

Monday, November 4, 2013

Rebecca S. Spicer, PhD, MPH , Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Calverton, MD
Ted R. Miller, PhD , Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Calverton, MD
Background: Workplace consequences of alcohol and drug abuse include poor performance, fighting, insubordination, and occupational injuries, among other problems. To address the critical need for substance abuse prevention in the workplace, the Personal Responsibility and Values: Education and Training (PREVENT) program, originally designed for the U.S. Navy, was adapted to an 18-29 year-old railroad workforce. PREVENT is based on the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) stages-of-change approach. This study evaluates the adapted PREVENT program's impact on alcohol use and smoking. Methods: This case-control study compares self-reported alcohol use and smoking between PREVENT participants and a control group, pre- versus post-intervention. Non-equivalency at baseline between the groups is controlled for using a propensity score. Results: Controlling for demographic characteristics and pre-intervention smoking and drinking levels, PREVENT participants showed significant declines in smoking and drinking levels post-intervention compared to controls. In the previous 30 days, PREVENT participants had 75% fewer smoking days (relative rate=0.25, p=0.030), 69% fewer drinks (relative rate=0.31, p=0.001), 55% fewer drinking days (relative rate=0.45, p=0.003), and 64% fewer days consuming 5 or more drinks (relative rate=0.36, p=0.033) compared to controls. PREVENT participants were 52% less likely to face disciplinary action (OR=0.47, p=0.066) compared to controls. Conclusion: PREVENT reduced alcohol consumption and smoking among railroad workers aged 18-29. Decreases in alcohol use among PREVENT participants were consistently observed across all alcohol measures. This study provides evidence that PREVENT was successfully adapted and is an appropriate fit for transport workers.

Learning Areas:
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Occupational health and safety
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
Evaluate a workplace program using a case-control design. Describe the Transtheoretical Model stages-of-change approach. Discuss the stages-of-change approach in light of the observed changes among the intervention group.

Keywords: Prevention, Evaluation

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: For the past 18 years I have contributed to the research field of substance abuse prevention. My expertise includes program and policy evaluation, cost analysis, and study design. I was the principal investigator of this study and was responsible for the study's design and the analysis and interpretation of the data. I wrote the abstract.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.