Developing effective professional bus driver health programs: An investigation of self-rated health

The health of professional bus drivers is a critical factor in their driving performance; any impairment may lead to undesired consequences. In an attempt to develop and prioritize health and wellness programs, this study investigates the factors significantly affecting the health conditions of professional bus drivers, as well as the strength of these factors. This study uses self-rated health as the examination measurement. This simple assessment is an inclusive measure of health status for judging health trajectory, and is highly associated with changes in functional ability, including perceived control over driving. This study evaluates driver responses of self-rated health with ordered response models that consider factors such as the driver reported health problems, physical and psychological conditions, demographic factors, driving experience, and working environment. Analysis of a sample of 785 drivers shows that age, body mass index, depression, daily working hours, perceived company safety culture, and health problems are the factors significantly affecting self-rated health. Depression has the greatest effect among all factors except health problems. Unlike the linear relationships for the other factors, the relationships between depression levels and perceived health are S-shaped. The results of ordered response models suggest that these influential factors have distinct effects on the self-rated health of individual drivers and on the different levels of self-rated health.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457511001618
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00014575
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract reprinted with permission from Elsevier
• Authors:
  • Chung, Yi-Shih
  • Wong, Jinn-Tsai
• Publication Date: 2011-11

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 2093-2103
• Serial:
  • Accident Analysis & Prevention
  • Volume: 43
  • Issue Number: 6
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0001-4575
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00014575

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bus drivers; Depression (Mental condition); Diseases and medical conditions; Employee assistance programs; Health; Professional drivers
• Subject Areas: Public Transportation; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01352355
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Sep 23 2011 7:26AM