DOI: 10.5176/2315-4330_WNC19.254
Authors: Assoc. Prof. Kimie Otani
Abstract: Excessive drinking by workers is linked to the manifestation of noncommunicable chronic diseases, such as metabolic syndrome. The role of occupational health nurses is to encourage workers to adopt health behaviors to avoid excessive drinking. The study aimed to conduct an exploratory examination of the factors related to Japanese workers’ maintenance of the health behavior of avoiding excessive drinking. The study was conducted using a longitudinal questionnaire on the Internet. The survey was conducted once in 2014 and once in 2015. The questionnaire items included whether the respondent was engaged in health behaviors, such as avoiding excessive drinking, the degree of the influence of stress on the diet, the Daily Hassles Scale, and the Resilience Scale. The responses were analyzed using a decision tree analysis. The dependent variable was whether or not the respondent continued to avoid excessive drinking in both the 2014 and 2015 surveys. The independent variables were the questions in 2014, and the relationships between the dependent variable and independent variables were examined. The total number of respondents was 359, and the average age was 51.4 ± 7.6 years. Of these, 85.8 percent were male, 94.4 percent were in full-time employment, 90.8 percent worked during the day, and 61.0 percent were office workers. Those who continued to avoid excessive drinking constituted 56.0 percent. The decision tree analysis found that the continuation of excessive drinking avoidance was most strongly correlated with the degree of heavy drinking due to stress and it correlated with other factors, including the degree of overeating due to stress, trying to eat more vegetables, not smoking, and not snacking (error estimate 0.27; cross-validation estimate 0.33). The continuation of the excessive drinking avoidance behavior was most strongly correlated with the degree of heavy drinking due to stress. Occupational health nurses need to introduce appropriate knowledge about self-care when providing health instructions regarding lifestyle issues.
Keywords: workers, avoid excessive drinking, decision tree, occupational health nurse, Japan
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