Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (1)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Poulsen, K. B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Poulsen, K. B.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Health Promotion International, Vol. 19, No. 2, 205-213, June 2004
HEALTH PROMOTION INTERNATIONAL Vol. 19. No. 2 © Oxford University Press 2004. All rights reserved

The Healthy Bus project in Denmark: need for an action potential assessment

Kjeld B. Poulsen

National Institute of Occupational Health, Lersø Parkallé 105, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark

Address for correspondence: Kjeld B Poulsen, MD, PhD, Senior Researcher, Specialist in Occupational Medicine, The National Institute of Occupational Health, Lersø Parkallé 105, DK-2100 Copenhagen O, Denmark, E-mail: kbpoulsen{at}hotmail.com

SUMMARY

Research over the last 50 years has repeatedly documented that bus drivers are exposed to several physical and psychological risk factors, which are associated with health problems in the form of heart, musculo-skeletal and stomach disease, and increased coronary mortality. So why has there been little action to improve the situation when it is so obviously indicated by such assessments? This article describes the long and complex process that has made it possible to launch almost 200 interventions among the 3500 municipal bus drivers in Copenhagen. Using a participative action research design, new evidence was gathered by broadening the traditional work environmental scope to lifestyle, health issues and private matters. Comparing this updated needs assessment with a national reference population, it was found that drivers were often still worse off. Again, simply presenting new evidence did not seem to lead to changes and further work is needed to empower the stakeholders so that they can commit to start making effective interventions. It is concluded that every needs assessment has to be supplemented with an evaluation of the action potential.

Key words: action assessment; bus drivers; workplace health promotion


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Occup. Environ. Med.Home page
F Tuchsen, H Hannerz, C Roepstorff, and N Krause
Stroke among male professional drivers in Denmark, 1994-2003
Occup. Environ. Med., July 1, 2006; 63(7): 456 - 460.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.