Healthy lifestyle promotion among workers of a major hospital of Northern Italy

Objectives: A health promotion campaign is the preferred action to spread the idea that healthy habits could reduce morbidity and mortality related to various diseases. Projects related to the promotion of health have been implemented over the years, but anyway a prescriptive or training approach has shown a limited efficacy. Therefore it was decided to structure a WHP project (OspedaleInForma) using the motivational interview technique with the aim to make workers aware of their difficulties without giving up the freedom of choice. Methods: Step1 workers were recluted during the health surveillance visit to have available to BMI, blood tests, job and work shifts. Step2 Nutritional motivational interview during which the counsellor must assess the lifestyle of the worker based on the lifestyle questionnaire NSAS and information obtained from health surveillance visit. Counsellor both with worker decide a reassessed changing objective at 6 months follow-up (e.g. increase antioxidant food or physical activity). Step3 Introduction of innovations in the canteen: placemats with healthy messages, new healthy dishes, billboards with health menus, labels with the intake for portion of the food served. Step4 Installation of vending machines with healthy foods. Step5 Organization of walking groups. Results: Currently 1002 workers have participating in the project (women 73.25%, men 26.65%, mean age 45 years (sd 10.3), 25.32% BMI>25). The job more represented is nurse (33.9%). The night-shift workers represent 45% of the sample, 39.2% are non-shift workers and 14.1% daytime shift workers. The score of the questionnaire shows how the lifestyle is different by gender (p=0.006) and work (p<0.001, physician and health specialist), but not for the work shifts and age. In subjects returned to follow-up there is no reduction in BMI, but lifestyle (p<0.0001) and the use of antioxidant food (p<0.001) are improved. The 50.17% of workers have achieved the objectives, the 16.26% partially achieved, the 33.56% not achieved. Conclusion: From the data collected it seems that the intervention is effective because of 66,43% of the subjects returned have improved their lifestyle. To draw conclusions will be important to finish with the follow-up.