Open AccessDiffusion of Health Education Programs with Reference to Health Behavior Theories in Japanese Workplaces: Present Status and Future Plans
Author(s) -
Fujii Hiroko,
Muto Takashi
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of occupational health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 59
ISSN - 1348-9585
DOI - 10.1539/joh.l8071
Subject(s) - health behavior , health education , psychology , obesity , questionnaire , gerontology , diffusion of innovations , environmental health , medicine , family medicine , medical education , public health , marketing , business , nursing , sociology , social science
Diffusion of Health Education Programs with Reference to Health Behavior Theories in Japanese Workplaces: Present Status and Future Plans: Hiroko F ujii , et al . Department of Public Health, Dokkyo Medical University School of MedicineObjectives This study investigated the characteristics of health education programs and the health behavior theories used to establish more effective programs for Japanese companies. Methods The study surveyed 1,372 companies with 500 or more employees. In a cross‐sectional study, the characteristics of the health education programs were surveyed using a questionnaire, which included items regarding target lifestyle‐related diseases and lifestyle areas, and the health behavior theories used to develop the present status and future plans. Results One hundred ninety companies responded giving a response rate of 13.8%. At the time of the survey, the most common diseases targeted for primary prevention were obesity (27.1%), hypertension (22.7%), hyperlipidemia (22.1%), and diabetes (22.1%). Approximately 60% of the respondents were implementing health education programs that targeted certain lifestyles, and the most frequently reported target lifestyles were diet (41.0%) and exercise (38.2%). At the time of the survey, 40% of respondents had implemented programs that included health behavior theory, and 55.6% were going to implement such program plans in the future, a significantly higher percentage than at the time of the survey. Conclusions In Japanese workplaces, it has been suggested that programs that include health behavior theories have not been implemented frequently enough, but such programs are expected to become more common in the future. The findings of this survey may be useful for planning health education programs using health behavior theories to establish more effective programs for Japanese companies.