Safety belt use and related health variables in a worksite health promotion program

Few corporate-based health promotion programs address a major preventable killer that strikes American workers--motor vehicle crashes. The use of vehicle safety belts is a known and effective prevention measure yet few workers use them. Very little research has been done on safety belt use as a health behavior, particularly as it relates to a corporate health promotion program. Data from an Employee Health Survey on 3,947 employees at Control Data Corporation were examined in 1982-83 to determine the relationship between safety belt use and other health habits. Comparisons between participants in the Stay Well Program (a health promotion program) and nonparticipant and control groups were analyzed. Users of safety belts reported more moderate use of alcohol, better exercise habits, less smoking and were less likely to be overweight than nonusers. Among Stay Well employees completing a Health Risk Profile, higher levels of safety belt use were reported. Recommendations are made which have implications for the design of safety belt motivation programs within the context of worksite health promotion.