abstract: 'The workplace is an effective channel for disseminating health promotion

  interventions,(1) and it is becoming an increasingly important vehicle

  for reaching women. In the United States, 54\% of women over 18 work

  outside the home. Bureau of Labor projections indicate that by the year

  2005, women will be entering the workforce at a faster rate than men.

  Manufacturing worksites, in particular, offer an effective means of

  reaching women who are underserved, undereducated, and from lower income

  strata. The worksite may play a particularly important role in reaching

  these underserved women because they may have less access to traditional

  channels for health care and prevention. However, poor participation in

  worksite programs is often cited as a major contributor to less than

  optimal outcomes in worksite-based programs.

  Little is known about the determinants of participation in worksite

  health promotion programs. In addition, there is no common definition of

  `''participation,'''' which adds to the confusion in this literature.(2)

  While it is difficult to make comparisons across data that use different

  definitions of participation, several recurrent themes exist.

  Demographic characteristics tend to predict participation in worksite

  health promotion programs. Younger employees, those with higher

  education levels, and women are more likely to participate,(2,6)

  although men are more likely to participate in fitness programs.(7,8)

  Organizational or worksite-level factors that promote individual

  participation in health promotion programs are less clear. Top

  management support, willingness to allow attendance on company time, and

  line supervisor permission to attend programs all seem to play a role in

  facilitating participation. Although the importance of organizational

  factors has been acknowledged,(2,6,9-11) the systematic study of how

  these factors differentially predict participation by

  gender-occupational characteristics, age, and health status has only

  recently begun.(12,13)

  The Working Well Trial, a randomized trial of worksite health

  promotion,12 13 offers a unique opportunity to investigate factors

  influencing participation in health promotion programs. In one of the

  four participating study centers (Brown University), it was observed

  that 57\% of women employed in participating companies did not attend

  any of the intervention activities. These data indicated that the

  program was not effectively reaching a large percentage of the women

  employed in these companies. As a result, the present study was designed

  to investigate the facilitators and barriers to women''s participation in

  worksite health promotion.'
affiliation: 'Emmons, KM (Corresponding Author), MIRIAM HOSP,PROVIDENCE,RI 02906,
  USA.

  BROWN UNIV,SCH MED,PROVIDENCE,RI 02912.

  BROWN UNIV,MEM HOSP RHODE ISL,PAWTUCKET,RI 02860.'
author: Emmons, KM and Linnan, L and Abrams, D and Lovell, HJ
author_list:
- family: Emmons
  given: KM
- family: Linnan
  given: L
- family: Abrams
  given: D
- family: Lovell
  given: HJ
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1016/1049-3867(95)00049-6
files: []
issn: 1049-3867
journal: WOMENS HEALTH ISSUES
keywords-plus: SMOKING
language: English
month: MAR-APR
number: '2'
number-of-cited-references: '18'
orcid-numbers: Abrams, David B/0000-0002-0868-4350
pages: 74-81
papis_id: ab27cd9a20383c835303dadb078be1b1
ref: Emmons1996womenwho
researcherid-numbers: Abrams, David B/AAY-7699-2020
times-cited: '18'
title: 'Women who work in manufacturing settings: Factors influencing their participation
  in worksite health promotion programs'
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:A1996UB80200002
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '4'
volume: '6'
web-of-science-categories: Public, Environmental \& Occupational Health; Women's Studies
year: '1996'