Clinic Staff Health-Smart Behavior Program

Principal Investigator
Carolyn M. Tucker, PhD

Co-Investigators
Rebecca R. Pauly, MD and Patricia Meek

Funding Source
University of Florida's College of Medicine

Purpose:

The purpose of the Clinic Staff Health-Smart Behavior Program is to empirically evaluate the effectiveness of an employment site-based health self-empowerment program (the Health-Smart Behavior Program) that is designed to increase employees' engagement in "Health-Smart Behaviors" (e.g., eating a healthier diet, being more physically active, and managing stress), which may result in health benefits such as loss of excessive weight, lower blood pressure, and improved health-releated quality of life. The study also will examine the indirect effects that participation in the Program has on the Health-Smart Behaviors of the clinic staff participants' family members. An innovative aspect of this study is that the Health-Smart Behavior Program intervention components will be administered by trained senior clinic staff members (i.e., Health Empowerment Coaches) rather than Dr. Tucker and her research team.

Procedure:

Clinic staff participants will be recruited from several Shands Hospital outpatient healthcare clinics located in Gainesville, Florida. Clinic staff participants will be asked to invite up to four of their family members to also participate. The study will be implemented in the following six phases:

During Phase 1, Health Empowerment Coaches will be recruited and trained, and clinic staff participants and their family members will be recruited. Additionally, clinic staff participants will be assigned to an Intervention Group or a Wait-List Control Group. 

During Phase 2, the following baseline data will be collected:

• Clinic staff participants:
  • demographic and health information;
  • an assortment of questionnaires on health behaviors and quality of life;
  • the Motivators of and Barriers to Health-Smart Behaviors Inventory ;
  • height, weight, and blood pressure.
• Family members:
  • demographic and health information;
  • a questionnaire on health behaviors

During Phase 3, clinic staff participants assigned to the Intervention Group will:

• take part in small-group Health-Smart Behavior program sessions, in which they view segments of the Family Health Self-Empowerment DVD.
• take part in small-group discussions focused on their motivators of and barriers to engaging in the targeted Health-Smart Behaviors. (Both the Health-Smart Behavior sessions and the small-group discussions are led by the Health Empowerment Coaches.)
• have one individual consultation session with a research assistant to set goals for engaging in Health-Smart Behaviors.
• use the Health-Smart Behavior Resource Guide (developed by Dr. Tucker and her Health Psychology Research team to supplement and extend the Family Health Self-Empowerment DVD) as a resource for helpful tips and strategies for engaging in Health-Smart Behaviors.
• engage in moderate-to-strenuous physical activity at least three times per week and document these activities. (Intervention group participants also will record their Health-Smart Behaviors and their weight and blood pressure on a weekly basis during this phase.)

Clinic staff participants in the Wait-List Control Group and family members will have no responsibilities during this phase.

During Phase 4,the following data will be collected:

• Clinic staff participants:
  • an assortment of questionnaires on health behaviors and quality of life;
  • the Motivators of and Barriers to Health-Smart Behaviors Inventory;
  • height, weight, and blood pressure.
• Family members:
  • a questionnaire on health behaviors.

During Phase 5, clinic staff participants assigned to the Wait-List Control Group will:

• take part in small-group Health-Smart Behavior program sessions, in which they view segments of the Family Health Self-Empowerment DVD.
• take part in small-group discussions focused on their motivators of and barriers to engaging in the targeted Health-Smart Behaviors. (Both the Health-Smart Behavior sessions and the small-group discussions are led by the Health Empowerment Coaches.)
• have one individual consultation session with a research assistant to set goals for engaging in Health-Smart Behaviors.
• use the Health-Smart Behavior Resource Guide (developed by Dr. Tucker and her Health Psychology Research team to supplement and extend the Family Health Self-Empowerment DVD) as a resource for helpful tips and strategies for engaging in Health-Smart Behaviors.
• engage in moderate-to-strenuous physical activity at least three times per week and document these activities. (Intervention group participants also will record their Health-Smart Behaviors and their weight and blood pressure on a weekly basis during this phase.)

During this phase, clinic staff participants in the Intervention Group will be encouraged to continue engaging in Health-Smart Behaviors, but will not be expected to record their health behavior engagement. Family members will have no responsibilities during this phase.

During Phase 6, the Follow-Up Data Collection, the following data will be collected:

• Clinic staff participants:
  • an assortment of questionnaires on health behaviors and quality of life;
  • the Motivators of and Barriers to Health-Smart Behaviors Inventory;
  • height, weight,and blood pressure.
• Family members:
  • a questionnaire on health behaviors.