Pilot study and cumulative risk framework to advance long-haul driver health
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abstract
Commercial drivers are essential to the economic recovery, yet their work exposes them to many health and safety hazards. Research to improve driver health should be designed with an understanding of both the complex occupational environment and the risk management context. We present results of a small pilot study of driver health concerns and behaviors to illustrate concepts and frameworks from human health risk assessment and management that may assist in the design and translation of driver and other worker health research. The pilot study surveyed eighteen long-haul truck drivers at a truck stop using an instrument adapted from the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and a transient community needs assessment developed for the US Antarctic Program Recreation and Wellness Survey. Respondents characteristics and health concerns reflect existing literature: mostly male of older age with musculo-skeletal and chronic health conditions. The two most common barriers to physical activity were lack of time and physical limitations. Applying cumulative risk assessment and risk-based decision-making frameworks, we suggest that preventive health management opportunities can be improved for this transient community of workers through actions of employers, truck stop owners and their communities. Considering cumulative risk assessment and risk-based decision making in research design can facilitate holistic research considering co-exposures, risk factors and mitigators across multiple domains of health to inform worker protection.
