International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology
MenuISSN ONLINE(2319-8753)PRINT(2347-6710)
ISSN ONLINE(2319-8753)PRINT(2347-6710)
Shweta Satish Devare Phadke1, Drashan Shetty2, Rauf Iqbal3
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Health promotion is based around the saying “Prevention is better than cure” and it aims at preventing morbidity and mortality. Health promotion enhances the quality of life for all people. Leading a healthy lifestyle enables one to perform better in all aspects of life. It was our initiative to conduct a healthy living workshop for the traffic policemen of Navi Mumbai, as part of worksite health promotion program. In this program, 60 traffic policemen from across Navi Mumbai were addressed concerning the aspects of healthy living and prevention of the health hazards associated with their profession. Feedback generated after the workshop with help of Questionnaire. The average feedback score on Likart’s scale was 4.7out of 5. Thus this workshop well appreciated in this community. We believe if they are offered such programs in times to come it shall spark a change for the better. The frequency of such programs should be increased in the future to keep this momentum going as being healthy isn’t a fad or a trend. Instead it is a lifestyle.
Keywords |
| Worksite health promotion, Traffic Policemen, health promotion. |
INTRODUCTION |
| Health promotion improves the health status of individuals, families, communities, states, and the Nation. It enhances the quality of life for all people and prevents premature deaths and diseases. By focusing on prevention, health promotion reduces the costs that individuals, employers, families, insurance companies, medical facilities, communities, the state and the nation would spend on medical treatment. Raising consciousness about the imperativeness of maintaining good health would undoubtedly elevate the standards of living in the country. Worksite health promotion is a strategy to improve the health and well-being of people at work. The measures aim at the personal, organizational and work environment.8Individuals play a key role in promoting their health because personal behavior is the major determining factor of health status. For health promotion to be effective, individuals need to be empowered. This could be achieved by raising individual knowledge, constructing environments supportive of health and reorienting health services towards prevention.Thus in our study we conducted healthy living workshop as a part of worksite health promotion programme for traffic policemen of Navi Mumbai. |
RELATED WORK |
| In order to plan ergonomic solution for any occupation first step is to evaluate current situation. Shweta SDP et.al.started with assessment of physical health4,5, mental health7 and quality of life 6of Traffic Police. All these studies demonstrated extent of occupational health hazards of Traffic Police. The best parts of occupational hazards are they are preventable to large extent. Thus we planned worksite health promotion strategies for this community. |
METHODOLOGY |
| Study design- Cross sectional study |
| Study subjects- Traffic police of Navi Mumbai |
| Sample size- 60 |
| Study place- Navi Mumbai |
| Inclusive criteria- Apparently healthy Traffic policemen of Navi Mumbai. |
| Exclusion criteria- |
| Retired traffic policemen |
| Traffic policemen not from Navi Mumbai |
| Traffic policemen with chronic medical illness. |
PLAN OF STUDY |
| Necessary permissions obtained through Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic branch, Navi Mumbai. A wellness workshop was held which included a health talk, Powerpoint presentation and demonstration of simple on duty exercises. Workshop held in duty hours at the site of work. Post intervention a semi-structured questionnaire was administered for collecting feedback about workshop. The questionnaire was anonymously filled. 5 point Likert’s scale was used to determine the score of each question. Data analysis was done with help of descriptive statistics in MS Excel 2010. |
RESULTS |
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| Inference- |
| The comprehensive feedback score was highly positive. |
DISCUSSION |
| A workshop was conducted on the subject of “healthy living”. Its main objective was to protect and promote health at the workplace. It includes essential conceptsto preventoccupationalhealthhazards. The fundamental aspect of promoting health is the prevention of diseases. Prevention being an easier task than managing a fatal disease. |
| The presentation spoke about various habits to inculcate in order to lead a happy and healthy life. They were told about an ideal diet plan and the effect of diet on health, avoiding a range of diseases. A healthy diet gives the body essential nutrients it needs to perform physically, maintain wellness and avert diseases. We also elaborated on the importance of getting regular physical activity for well-being of the body. Regular physical activity can help in reducing the risk of acquiring type 2 diabetes, reduces the risk of a heart attack, helps one manage their weight better, lowers the risk of osteoporosis and has the ability to improve the quality of individuals life in more ways. We demonstrated simple exercises that traffic policemen could do on duty. Such exercises focused on muscles of the shoulder, elbow, neck , hip, ankle etc. Active range of motion exercises help improve joint function and circulation. Small practice session was followed thereafter. |
| A feedback form regarding the workshop and a pamphlet rendering information about spinal exercises was later distributed to the audience members. Feedback form was used to voice their views on the workshop. The feedback forms were filled anonymously so that we could procure unbiased viewpoint from the traffic policemen. It consisted of 8 questions, which were rated on the Likart’sscale of 1 to 5. 1 being lowest score and 5 was best score. The questions were based on whether the information provided was specifically helpful to each person. They were asked if theywere inspired by the presentation and also if they could comprehend and grasp all the information provided in the workshop. |
| There were three questions in particular which received the highest score from most traffic police personnel gathered in the audience namely; |
| 1) Did the lecture give you enough information regarding the subject matter? |
| We asked this to know if they could use the information provided in their day to day life and whether they learned something new. It received an average score of 4.7. |
| It tells us that their doubts about healthy living were answered fully and in a meaningful way. |
| 2) Were you satisfied with the given information? |
| We wanted to know if the information given to them was in harmony with their needs and if they were content with it. The high scores (5/5) that we received tells us that the content of the talk was appropriate to their needs. |
| 3) Was the program successful in conveying the message? |
| The feedback form score( 4.7/5) showed that the policemen appreciated the benefits that would come with leading a healthier lifestyle by incorporating changes in their diet recommended to them and increasing their physical activity with the on duty simple exercises demonstrated and advised to them. |
| Some of the other questions included in the feedback form were as follows- |
| Was the content of the talk appropriate to my needs? (Average score 4.4/5) |
| Were there opportunities to ask questions and was this encouraged?(Average score 4.4/5) |
| Were the questions answered fully and in a meaningful way? (Average score 4.5/5) |
| Did the lecturer explain the material in a way that I could understand? (Average score 4.6/5) |
| Was the lecturer friendly and did he/she have a good relationship with the group? (Average score 4.4/5) |
| Looking at response to this workshop we think, more awareness programmesshould be planned about healthy living. Especially for policemen serving the public and who are responsible for the upkeep of the society. We believe if they are offered such programs in times to come it shall spark a change for the better.There should be a rapid rise in the frequency of such programs so that we build on this momentum and take the cause of health promotion further to the masses through the masses. |
CONCLUSION |
| The effectiveness of participation based health promotion program on traffic policemen has been successful in producing the intended positive result. |
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT |
| The authors thank Navi Mumbai Traffic police department for giving permission to carry out the study and to the traffic police personnel for giving their consent to participate in the study. And we will like to acknowledge Mr. A. Salve, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic branch, Navi Mumbai, for all planning and coordination. And Special thanks to Dr.UnnatiPandit, Director, School Of Physiotherapy, D.Y.Patil University, Nerul, Navi Mumbai, to give all hearted cooperation for this study. Authors acknowledge the immense help received from the scholars whose articles are cited and included in references of this manuscript. The authors are also grateful to authors/editors/publishers of all those articles, journals and books from where the literature for this article has been reviewed and discussed. |
References |
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