Thriving or surviving: staff health metrics and lifestyle behaviours within an Irish higher education setting

IF 2.4 Q2 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

International Journal of Workplace Health Management Pub Date : 2022-02-08 DOI:10.1108/ijwhm-02-2021-0033

A. Bickerdike, J. Dinneen, Cian O' Neill

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

PurposeDue to the international paucity of empirical evidence, this study aimed to investigate the health metrics and lifestyle behaviours of a staff cohort in a higher education institution (HEI) in Ireland.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 279 (16.4% response rate) HEI staff (academic, management, clerical/support), via a web-based health questionnaire that incorporated validated measures such as the Mental Health Index-5, Energy and Vitality Index, Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale (short form) and the AUDIT-C drinking subscale. A cluster analytical procedure was used to examine the presence of distinct clusters of individuals exhibiting either optimal or sub-optimal health behaviours.FindingsA multitude of concerning patterns were identified including poor anthropometric profiles (64.4% of males overweight/obese), excessive occupational sitting time (67.8% of females sitting for = 4 h per day), hazardous drinking among younger staff (38.2% of 18–34 year olds), sub-optimal sleep duration on weeknights (82.2% less than 8 h), less favourable mean psychometric indices than the general Irish population, and insufficient fruit and vegetable intake (62.1% reporting <5 daily servings). Cluster analysis revealed “Healthy lifestyle” individuals exhibited significantly lower BMI values, lower stress levels and reported fewer days absent from work compared to those with a “Sub-optimal lifestyle”.Originality/valueIn contrast to the abundance of research pertaining to student cohorts, the current study is the first to examine the clustering of health-related variables in a cohort of HEI staff in Ireland. Findings will be used to inform policy at the host institution and will be of broader interest to higher education stakeholders elsewhere. Future longitudinal studies are required to monitor the health challenges experienced by this influential, yet under-researched cohort.

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繁荣或生存：爱尔兰高等教育环境中的员工健康指标和生活方式行为

目的由于国际上缺乏经验证据，本研究旨在调查爱尔兰高等教育机构（HEI）工作人员的健康指标和生活方式行为。设计/方法/方法收集了279名（16.4%的响应率）HEI工作人员（学术、管理、文书/支持）的数据，通过基于网络的健康问卷，该问卷包含了经验证的指标，如心理健康指数-5、能量和活力指数、科恩感知压力量表（缩写）和AUDIT-C饮酒分量表。使用聚类分析程序来检查表现出最佳或次最佳健康行为的不同个体集群的存在。发现了许多令人担忧的模式，包括不良的人体测量特征（64.4%的男性超重/肥胖）、过多的职业性久坐时间（67.8%的女性每天坐4小时）、年轻员工中的危险饮酒（38.2%的18-34岁员工）、工作日夜间的次优睡眠时间（82.2%小于8小时），平均心理测量指数低于爱尔兰普通人群，水果和蔬菜摄入不足（62.1%的人报告每日食用量<5份）。聚类分析显示，与“次优生活方式”的人相比，“健康生活方式”个体的BMI值显著较低，压力水平较低，缺勤天数较少，目前的研究是第一次在爱尔兰高等教育学院工作人员的队列中检验与健康相关的变量的聚类。研究结果将用于为主办机构的政策提供信息，并将引起其他地方高等教育利益相关者的广泛兴趣。未来的纵向研究需要监测这个有影响力但研究不足的队列所经历的健康挑战。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Workplace Health Management PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH-

CiteScore

4.20

自引率

22.70%

发文量

期刊介绍： Coverage includes, but is not restricted to: ■Best practice examples of successful workplace health solutions ■Promoting compliance with workplace health legislation ■Primary care and primary prevention ■Promoting health in the workplace ■The business case for workplace health promotion ■Workplace health issues and concerns, such as mental health, disability management, violence and the workplace, stress, workplace hazards, risk factor modification and work-life balance ■Workplace Culture ■Workplace policies supporting healthy workplace ■Inducing organizational change ■Occupational health & safety issues ■Educating the employer and employee ■Promoting health outside of the workplace