Contemp Clin Trials

Abstract

BackgroundLow-wage workers suffer disproportionately high rates of chronic disease and are important targets for workplace health and safety interventions. Child care centers offer an ideal opportunity to reach some of the lowest paid workers, but these settings have been ignored in workplace intervention studies.MethodsCaring and Reaching for Health (CARE) is a cluster-randomized controlled trial evaluating efficacy of a multi-level, workplace-based intervention set in child care centers that promotes physical activity and other health behaviors among staff. Centers are randomized (1:1) into the Healthy Lifestyles (intervention) or the Healthy Finances (attention control) program. Healthy Lifestyles is delivered over six months including a kick-off event and three 8-week health campaigns (magazines, goal setting, behavior monitoring, tailored feedback, prompts, center displays, director coaching). The primary outcome is minutes of moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA); secondary outcomes are health behaviors (diet, smoking, sleep, stress), physical assessments (body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, blood pressure, fitness), and workplace supports for health and safety.ResultsIn total, 56 centers and 553 participants have been recruited and randomized. Participants are predominately female (96.7%) and either Non-Hispanic African American (51.6%) or Non-Hispanic White (36.7%). Most participants (63.4%) are obese. They accumulate 17.4 ( \ub1 14.2) minutes/day of MVPA and consume 1.3 ( \ub1 1.4) and 1.3 ( \ub1 0.8) servings/day of fruits and vegetables, respectively. Also, 14.2% are smokers; they report 6.4 ( \ub1 1.4) hours/night of sleep; and 34.9% are high risk for depression.ConclusionsBaseline data demonstrate several serious health risks, confirming the importance of workplace interventions in child care.P30 DK056350/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/United StatesR01 HL119568/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/United StatesU48DP005017/ACL/ACL HHS/United StatesU48 DP005017/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHS/United States2018-05-10T00:00:00Z29501740PMC5944351896