A Web-Based Total Worker Health Intervention for Those Fighting Wildland Fires: Mixed Methods Development and Effectiveness Trial.

BACKGROUND: Fire seasons are longer, with more and larger wildfires, placing increased demands and risks on those fighting wildland fires. There are multiple agencies involved with fighting wildland fires and unique worksite conditions make meeting these workers' needs a challenge. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to develop and establish the effectiveness of a web-based safety and health program for those fighting wildland fires. METHODS: This mixed methods project had 3 phases. The initial qualitative phase assessed the needs of 150 diverse firefighters through interviews and focus groups across 11 US sites to establish and prioritize program content. Interview transcripts were read for thematic content with iterative readings used to identify, code, and rank health and safety issues. The second phase used that information to build a comprehensive Total Worker Health program for those fighting wildfires. The program content was based on the qualitative interview data and consisted of 6 core and 8 elective 30-minute, web-based modules primarily done individually on a smartphone or computer. The final, third phase evaluated the program with a quantitative prospective proof-of-concept, usability, and effectiveness trial among wildland firefighter participants. Effectiveness was assessed with paired 2-tailed t tests for pre- and post-Likert agreement scale survey items, adjusted for multiple comparisons. In addition to assessing mean and SD at baseline and postsurvey, observed effect sizes were calculated (Cohen d). Usability and reaction to the program among firefighters who responded to postsurvey were also assessed. RESULTS: The qualitative themes and subthemes were used to inform the program's content. For the effectiveness trial, 131 firefighters completed the presurvey, and 50 (38.2%) completed the postsurvey. The majority of the participants were White (n=123, 93.9%), male (n=117, 89.3%), with an average age of 41 (SD 12.9) years. Significant increases in knowledge and desired health and safety behaviors were found for both cancer (P<.001) and cardiovascular risk (P=.01), nutrition behaviors (P=.01), hydration or overheating (P=.001), binge drinking (P=.002), and getting medical checkups (P=.001). More than 80% (n=40) of postsurvey respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the program was easy to use and would recommend it to others. CONCLUSIONS: An innovative web-based safety and health promotion program for those fighting wildland fires was feasible, scalable, and usable. It improved the health and safety of those fighting wildland fires. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05753358; https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05753358.

Technology-Enabled Intervention to Enhance Mindfulness, Safety, and Health Promotion Among Corrections Professionals: Protocol for a Prospective Quasi-Experimental Trial.

BACKGROUND: Correction professionals are a highly stressed workforce with heightened risks for depression, suicide, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and injury. These professionals, largely hidden from view, have received little study concerning means to improve their safety, health, and well-being. In other settings, mindfulness has resulted in lowered stress, along with other benefits. We hypothesized that a program that promoted mindfulness combined with more typical health and safety components could uniquely benefit corrections professionals. OBJECTIVE: This project will assess a novel scalable, self-administered program to enhance the mindfulness, safety, and health of a vulnerable worker group. METHODS: In partnership with the Oregon Department of Corrections, we are conducting a prospective quasi-experimental trial of a safety, health, and mindfulness program among 100 corrections professionals from 2 institutions. Survey and physiologic data will be collected at enrollment, upon weekly program completion (3 months), and at 9 months after enrollment. Primary outcome behaviors promoted by the program are being mindful, healthier eating, more physical activity, and greater restorative sleep. Secondary downstream benefits are anticipated in stress level, mood, positive feelings about the organization, vascular health, and cellular aging, along with job performance, injuries, and economic costs. Participants will meet in-person or in a Zoom-type meeting as 3- to 5-member coworker groups during their usual work hours for 30-minute sessions once a week for 12 weeks. The program uses self-guided web-based learning modules that include brief mindfulness practice, and it is accessible by smartphone, tablet, or laptop. Daily mindfulness practice is encouraged between sessions, which is facilitated by the study website and group format. The modules' structure emphasizes prerequisite knowledge, peer support, skill practice, self-monitoring, and enhancing self-efficacy for change. The program continues through self-directed use of the Headspace app following the 12 weekly sessions. RESULTS: Participants are being enrolled, and the intervention is ready to launch. CONCLUSIONS: Although mindfulness training has gained traction for worker well-being, its usual format requires a skilled trainer, an initial retreat, and weekly 2-hour meetings for several weeks. The content is limited to mindfulness without safety or health promotion aspects. The need for skilled trainers and time commitment limits the scalability of the usual mindfulness interventions. The planned program is an innovative combination of technology, e-learning, and a group format to add mindfulness to a safety and health curriculum. If acceptable and effective, the format would facilitate its widespread use. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05608889; https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05608889. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/45535.

Protocol for an exploratory, randomised, single-blind clinical trial of aerobic exercise to promote remyelination in multiple sclerosis.

INTRODUCTION: There is an urgent need for remyelinating therapies that restore function in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). Aerobic exercise is a promising remyelinating strategy because it promotes remyelination in animal models both independently and synergistically with medications. Here, in this study, we present an innovative, randomised, single-blind, clinical trial designed to explore: the relationship between demyelination and mobility (part 1), and if 24 weeks of aerobic exercise promotes remyelination in pwMS (part 2). METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Sedentary participants (n=60; aged 18-64 years) with stable MS will undergo a baseline visit with the following outcomes to assess associations between demyelination and mobility (part 1): spinal cord demyelination (somatosensory-evoked potentials, SSEPs), mobility (6-Minute Timed Walk, Timed 25-Foot Walk, Timed Up and Go, 9-Hole Peg Test) and patient-reported outcomes (PROs). After baseline testing, participants with significantly prolonged SSEP latency will advance to the clinical exercise trial (part 2) and will be randomised 1:1 to active or control conditions for 24 weeks. The active condition will be aerobic stationary cycling three times per week with graded virtual supervision. The control condition will be monthly virtual MS symptom education groups (six sessions). SSEP latency (remyelination endpoint), mobility outcomes and PROs will be measured at 12 and 24 weeks in all clinical trial participants. A subset of 11 active and 11 control participants will undergo a brain MRI with quantitative T1 myelin water fraction at baseline and 24 weeks (exploratory remyelination endpoint). ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval was obtained from the Oregon Health & Science University Institutional Review Board (#21045). Dissemination of findings will include peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and media releases. The proposed study will inform the feasibility, study design and sample size for a fully powered clinical trial of aerobic exercise to promote remyelination in pwMS. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04539002.

A Comparison of Safety, Health, and Well-Being Risk Factors Across Five Occupational Samples.

Objective: The aim of this study was to present safety, health and well-being profiles of workers within five occupations: call center work (N = 139), corrections (N = 85), construction (N = 348), homecare (N = 149), and parks and recreation (N = 178). Methods: Baseline data from the Data Repository of Oregon's Healthy Workforce Center were used. Measures were compared with clinical healthcare guidelines and national norms. Results: The prevalence of health and safety risks for adults was as follows: overweight (83.2%), high blood pressure (16.4%), injury causing lost work (9.9%), and reported pain (47.0%). Young workers were least likely to report adequate sleep (46.6%). Construction workers reported the highest rate of smoking (20.7%). All of the adult workers reported significantly lower general health than the general population. Conclusion: The number of workers experiencing poor safety, health and well-being outcomes suggest the need for improved working conditions.

Separating insulin-mediated and non-insulin-mediated glucose uptake during and after aerobic exercise in type 1 diabetes.

Aerobic exercise in type 1 diabetes (T1D) causes rapid increase in glucose utilization due to muscle work during exercise, followed by increased insulin sensitivity after exercise. Better understanding of these changes is necessary for models of exercise in T1D. Twenty-six individuals with T1D underwent three sessions at three insulin rates (100%, 150%, 300% of basal). After 3-h run-in, participants performed 45 min aerobic exercise (moderate or intense). We determined area under the curve for endogenous glucose production (AUCEGP) and rate of glucose disappearance (AUCRd) over 45 min from exercise start. A novel application of linear regression of Rd across the three insulin sessions allowed separation of insulin-mediated from non-insulin-mediated glucose uptake before, during, and after exercise. AUCRd increased 12.45 mmol/L (CI = 10.33-14.58, P < 0.001) and 13.13 mmol/L (CI = 11.01-15.26, P < 0.001) whereas AUCEGP increased 1.66 mmol/L (CI = 1.01-2.31, P < 0.001) and 3.46 mmol/L (CI = 2.81-4.11, P < 0.001) above baseline during moderate and intense exercise, respectively. AUCEGP increased during intense exercise by 2.14 mmol/L (CI = 0.91-3.37, P < 0.001) compared with moderate exercise. There was significant effect of insulin infusion rate on AUCRd equal to 0.06 mmol/L per % above basal rate (CI = 0.05-0.07, P < 0.001). Insulin-mediated glucose uptake rose during exercise and persisted hours afterward, whereas non-insulin-mediated effect was limited to the exercise period. To our knowledge, this method of isolating dynamic insulin- and non-insulin-mediated uptake has not been previously employed during exercise. These results will be useful in informing glucoregulatory models of T1D. The study has been registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03090451.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Separating insulin and non-insulin glucose uptake dynamically during exercise in type 1 diabetes has not been done before. We use a multistep process, including a previously described linear regression method, over three insulin infusion sessions, to perform this separation and can graph these components before, during, and after exercise for the first time.

Exercise Intolerance in Patients with Chronic Iliocaval Venous Occlusion: Initial Experience with Noninvasive Exercise Testing before and after Intervention.

Patients with chronic iliocaval occlusions after thrombosis often present with exercise intolerance, which improves after venous reconstruction. Three male patients with chronic iliocaval occlusions underwent a cardiorespiratory fitness test before and 2.5-11 months after venous reconstruction using stents. After the intervention, average absolute oxygen consumption increased by 29.5%, maximal oxygen consumption relative to body weight increased by 38.7%, total work at maximum exercise increased by 74.4%, and exercise time increased by 18.7%. The cardiorespiratory fitness test may be a useful noninvasive tool to objectively evaluate exercise intolerance due to chronic venous occlusions and response to therapy.

Effect of High-Intensity Exercise on Multiple Sclerosis Function and Phosphorous Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Outcomes.

PURPOSE: We determined if a high-intensity aerobic exercise program would be safe, improve expected fitness and clinical outcomes, and alter exploratory phosphorous magnetic resonance spectroscopy (P MRS) outcomes in persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). METHODS: This open-label prospective pilot study compared two cohorts of ambulatory PwMS matched for age, sex and V˙O2max. Cohorts underwent 8 wk of high-intensity aerobic exercise (MS-Ex, n = 10) or guided stretching (MS-Ctr, n = 7). Aerobic exercise consisted of four 30-min sessions per week while maintaining ≥70% maximal HR. Changes in cardiorespiratory fitness, clinical outcomes, and P MRS of tibialis anterior (TA) muscle and brain were compared. Cross-sectional P MRS comparisons were made between all MS participants and a separate matched healthy control population. RESULTS: The MS-Ex cohort achieved target increases in V˙O2max (mean, +12.7%; P = <0.001, between-group improvement, P = 0.03). One participant was withdrawn for exercise-induced syncope. The MS-Ex cohort had within-group improvements in fat mass (-5.8%; P = 0.04), lean muscle mass (+2.6%; P = 0.02), Symbol Digit Modalities Test (+15.1%; P = 0.04), and cognitive subscore of the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (-26%; P = 0.03), whereas only the physical subscore of the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale improved in MS-Ctr (-16.1%; P = 0.007). P MRS revealed significant within-group increases in MS-Ex participants in TA rate constant of phosphocreatine (PCr) recovery (+31.5%; P = 0.03) and adenosine triphosphate/PCr (+3.2%; P = 0.01), and near significant between-group increases in TA PCr recovery rate constant (P = 0.05) but no significant changes in brain P MRS after exercise. Cross-sectional differences existed between MS and healthy control brain PCr/inorganic phosphate (4.61 ± 0.44, 3.93 ± 0.19; P = 0.0019). CONCLUSIONS: High-intensity aerobic exercise in PwMS improved expected cardiorespiratory and clinical outcomes but provoked one serious adverse event. The P MRS may serve to explore underlying mechanisms by which aerobic exercise exerts cerebral benefits.

Essential Amino Acid Supplementation Mitigates Muscle Atrophy After Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Substantial muscle atrophy occurs after total knee arthroplasty (TKA), resulting in decreased strength and impaired mobility. We sought to determine whether perioperative supplementation with essential amino acids (EAA) would attenuate muscle atrophy following TKA and whether the supplements were safe for ingestion in an older surgical population. METHODS: We performed a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of 39 adults (age range, 53 to 76 years) undergoing primary unilateral TKA who ingested 20 g of EAA (n = 19) or placebo (n = 20) twice daily for 7 days preoperatively and for 6 weeks postoperatively. At baseline and 6 weeks postoperatively, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were obtained to measure quadriceps and hamstrings muscle volume. Secondary outcomes included functional mobility and strength. Data on physical activity, diet, and patient-reported outcomes (Veterans RAND 12-Item Health Survey and Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score) were collected. Safety was determined through blood tests evaluating blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, creatinine clearance, homocysteine, and renal and liver function. Laboratory values at baseline, on the day of surgery, and at 2 days, 2 weeks, and 6 weeks postoperatively were compared between treatment groups. Analysis of covariance models, with baseline values as covariates, were used to evaluate outcomes between treatment groups. P values were adjusted for multiple tests. RESULTS: Compared with baseline, the EAA group had significantly less decrease in mean quadriceps muscle volume compared with the placebo group in the involved leg (-8.5% ± 2.5% compared with -13.4% ± 1.9%; p = 0.033) and the contralateral leg (-1.5% ± 1.6% compared with -7.2% ± 1.4%; p = 0.014). The hamstrings also demonstrated a greater muscle-volume-sparing effect for the EAA group than for the placebo group in the involved leg (-7.4% ± 2.0% compared with -12.2% ± 1.4%; p = 0.036) and contralateral leg (-2.1% ± 1.3% compared with -7.5% ± 1.5%; p = 0.005). There were no differences between the groups in terms of functional measures or strength. Blood chemistry values varied significantly between assessments periods but did not statistically differ between groups. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study suggest that EAA supplementation is safe and reduces the loss of muscle volume in older adults recovering from TKA. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Empiric validation of a process for behavior change.

Most behavior change trials focus on outcomes rather than deconstructing how those outcomes related to programmatic theoretical underpinnings and intervention components. In this report, the process of change is compared for three evidence-based programs' that shared theories, intervention elements and potential mediating variables. Each investigation was a randomized trial that assessed pre- and post- intervention variables using survey constructs with established reliability. Each also used mediation analyses to define relationships. The findings were combined using a pattern matching approach. Surprisingly, knowledge was a significant mediator in each program (a and b path effects [p<0.01]). Norms, perceived control abilities, and self-monitoring were confirmed in at least two studies (p<0.01 for each). Replication of findings across studies with a common design but varied populations provides a robust validation of the theory and processes of an effective intervention. Combined findings also demonstrate a means to substantiate process aspects and theoretical models to advance understanding of behavior change.

The SHIELD (Safety & Health Improvement: Enhancing Law Enforcement Departments) Study: Mixed Methods Longitudinal Findings.

The SHIELD (Safety & Health Improvement: Enhancing Law Enforcement Departments) Study is a worksite wellness team-based intervention among police and sheriff departments assessing the program's effectiveness to reduce occupational risks and unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. The SHIELD program focused on improving diet, physical activity, body weight and sleep, and reducing the effects of unhealthy stress and behaviors, such as tobacco and substance abuse. The SHIELD team-based health promotion program was found to be feasible and effective at 6 months in improving diet, sleep, stress, and overall quality of life of law enforcement department personnel. Both intervention and control groups were followed for 24 months, and we report those durability findings, along with qualitative group interview results that provide insight into the changes of the long-term outcomes. Long-term effects were observed for consumption of fruits and vegetables, and there was some evidence for effects on tobacco and alcohol use. Assessment of dietary habits, physical activity behaviors, weight loss maintenance, and substance use is rare more than 1 year following an intervention, and in general, initial positive changes do not persist in prior research. The SHIELD program was feasible, effective, and durable for improving dietary changes.

Healthy Team Healthy U: A Prospective Validation of an Evidence-Based Worksite Health Promotion and Wellness Platform.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of a research-tested, team-based health promotion and wellness program combined with digital technologies and implemented in a diverse worksite setting among hospital, clinic, and university employees. METHODS: A prospective cohort study of employees completing biometrics and questionnaires before and after the initial 12-session wellness program and its 12-session booster, 1 year later. RESULTS: After both the initial intervention and booster, blood pressure and weight were reduced, with greater reductions among employees with pre-hypertension and hypertension and those with a body mass index ≥25. After both the initial intervention and booster, there was a significant increase in (1) daily intake of fruit and vegetable servings, (2) days/week of ≥30 min of exercise, (3) days/week of strength training, and (4) levels of moderately vigorous and vigorous daily physical activity. Self-reported indices of both depression and work-related stress were reduced, while participants reported increased happiness. Post booster, average sleep quality, and sleep duration increased among higher risk employees reporting ≤6 h of daily sleep. Employees reported receiving encouragement from co-workers to engage in healthful diet and physical activities, and exercised together more, and indicated that they would recommend the program to other employees. Longitudinal analysis revealed the durability of the initial intervention outcomes with further beneficial effects after the booster. CONCLUSION: A research tested, comprehensive team-based health promotion and wellness program, combined with digital technologies, improved employee health behaviors, mood, sleep, elements of co-worker cohesion, and biometrics among a diverse multi-site workforce. Positive program effects were durable, with enhanced results after the booster.

Effectiveness of total worker health interventions.

Total Worker Health (TWH) was introduced and the term was trademarked in 2011 by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to formally signal the expansion of traditional occupational safety and health (OSH) to include wellness and well-being. We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, and other databases using keywords TWH, health promotion, health protection, and variants for articles meeting the criteria of (a) employing both occupational safety and/or health (OSH, or health protection) and wellness and/or well-being (health promotion, or HP) in the same intervention study, and (b) reporting both OSH and HP outcomes. Only 17 published studies met these criteria. All but 1 of the 17 TWH interventions improved risk factors for injuries and/or chronic illnesses, and 4 improved 10 or more risk factors. Several TWH interventions reported sustained improvements for over a year, although only 1 is readily available for dissemination. These results suggest that TWH interventions that address both injuries and chronic diseases can improve workforce health effectively and more rapidly than the alternative of separately employing more narrowly focused programs to change the same outcomes in serial fashion. These 17 articles provide useful examples of how TWH interventions can be structured. The promise of simultaneous improvements in safety, health, and well-being leads to the call to pursue TWH research to identify and disseminate best practices.

The safety and health improvement: enhancing law enforcement departments study: feasibility and findings.

This randomized prospective trial aimed to assess the feasibility and efficacy of a team-based worksite health and safety intervention for law enforcement personnel. Four-hundred and eight subjects were enrolled and half were randomized to meet for weekly, peer-led sessions delivered from a scripted team-based health and safety curriculum. Curriculum addressed: exercise, nutrition, stress, sleep, body weight, injury, and other unhealthy lifestyle behaviors such as smoking and heavy alcohol use. Health and safety questionnaires administered before and after the intervention found significant improvements for increased fruit and vegetable consumption, overall healthy eating, increased sleep quantity and sleep quality, and reduced personal stress.

Understanding the durability of a fire department wellness program.

OBJECTIVES: To understand the influences associated with durability and diffusion of benefits of a fire service wellness program. METHODS: Qualitative assessment of group interviews. RESULTS: Five years following a controlled worksite wellness trial, behavioral improvements were durable and had diffused to control participants. These findings were associated with firefighters' team orientation, enacted healthy norms and competitiveness regarding the results of annual health assessments. The original intervention trial appeared to initiate individual change that coalesced into group effects. Secondary influences included increasing public awareness about health, newly hired younger firefighters, and a modicum of administrative support. Culture shift was achieved at the workplace. CONCLUSIONS: Although the fire service is a unique occupation, these findings suggest general strategies to achieve durable positive health change in other occupational settings.

Factors in adoption of a fire department wellness program: champ-and-chief model.

OBJECTIVE: To identify and evaluate determinants of fire departments' wellness program adoption. METHODS: The Promoting Healthy Lifestyles: Alternative Models' Effects fire service wellness program was offered for free to all medium-sized fire departments in Oregon and Washington. An invitation to participate was mailed to key fire department decision makers (chief, union president, and wellness officer). These key decision makers from 12 sites that adopted the program and 24 matched nonadopting sites were interviewed and results were analyzed to define adoption determinants. RESULTS: Three adoption requirements were identified: (1) mailer connection, (2) local firefighter wellness champion, and (3) willing fire chief, whereas a fourth set of organizational factors had little or no impact on adoption including previous and ongoing wellness activities, financial pressures, and resistance to change. CONCLUSIONS: Findings identified determinants of medium-sized fire service wellness program adoption.

Cherry juice targets antioxidant potential and pain relief.

Strenuous physical activity increases the risk of musculoskeletal injury and can induce muscle damage resulting in acute inflammation and decreased performance. The human body's natural response to injury results in inflammation-induced pain, swelling, and erythema. Among sports medicine physicians and athletic trainers, the mainstays of urgent treatment of soft tissue injury are rest, ice, compression, and elevation (RICE). In order to reduce pain and inflammation, anti-inflammatory agents such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) act on the multiple inflammatory pathways, which, although often very effective, can have undesirable side effects such as gastric ulceration and, infrequently, myocardial infarction and stroke. For centuries, natural anti-inflammatory compounds have been used to mediate the inflammatory process and often with fewer side effects. Tart cherries appear to possess similar effectiveness in treating the inflammatory reaction seen in both acute and chronic pain syndromes encountered among athletes and non-athletes with chronic inflammatory disease. This article reviews the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of tart cherries on prevention, treatment, and recovery of soft tissue injury and pain.

Body mass index as a predictor of firefighter injury and workers' compensation claims.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between lifestyle variables including body mass index and filing a workers' compensation claim due to firefighter injury. METHODS: A cross-sectional evaluation of firefighter injury related to workers" compensation claims occurring 5 years after the original Promoting Healthy Lifestyles: Alternative Models' Effects study intervention. RESULTS: A logistic regression analysis for variables predicting filing a workers' compensation claim due to an injury was performed with a total of 433 participants. The odds of filing a compensation claim were almost 3 times higher for firefighters with a body mass index of more than 30 kg/m than firefighters with a normal body mass index (odds ratio, 2.89; P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study addresses a high-priority area of reducing firefighter injuries and workers' compensation claims. Maintaining a healthy body weight is important to reduce injury and workers' compensation claims among firefighters.

Worksite wellness program implementation: a model of translational effectiveness.

Occupational health promotion programs with documented efficacy have not penetrated worksites. Establishing an implementation model would allow focusing on mediating aspects to enhance installation and use of evidence-based occupational wellness interventions. The purpose of the study was to implement an established wellness program in fire departments and define predictors of program exposure/dose to outcomes to define a cross-sectional model of translational effectiveness. The study is a prospective observational study among 12 NW fire departments. Data were collected before and following installation, and findings were used to conduct mediation analysis and develop a translational effectiveness model. Worker age was examined for its impact. Leadership, scheduling/competing demands, and tailoring were confirmed as model components, while organizational climate was not a factor. The established model fit data well (χ (2)(9) = 25.57, CFI = 0.99, RMSEA = 0.05, SRMR = 0.03). Older firefighters, nearing retirement, appeared to have influences that both enhanced and hindered participation. Findings can inform implementation of worksite wellness in fire departments, and the prioritized influences and translational model can be validated and manipulated in these and other settings to more efficiently move health promotion science to service.

The PHLAME (Promoting Healthy Lifestyles: Alternative Models' Effects) firefighter study: testing mediating mechanisms.

This paper examines the mechanisms by which PHLAME (Promoting Healthy Lifestyles: Alternative Models' Effects), a health promotion intervention, improved healthy eating and exercise behavior among firefighters, a population at high risk for health problems due to occupational hazards. In a randomized trial, 397 firefighters participated in either the PHLAME team intervention with their work shift or a control condition. Intervention sessions taught benefits of a healthy diet and regular exercise, and sought to improve social norms and social support from coworkers for healthy behavior. At posttest, team intervention participants had increased their fruit and vegetable consumption as compared to control participants. An increase in knowledge of fruit and vegetable benefits and improved dietary coworker norms partially mediated these effects. Exercise habits and VO2 max were related to targeted mediators but were not significantly changed by the team intervention. Partial support was found for both the action and conceptual theories underlying the intervention. Our findings illustrate how an effective program's process can be deconstructed to understand the underpinnings of behavior change and refine interventions. Further, fire stations may improve the health of firefighters by emphasizing the benefits of healthy diet and exercise behaviors while also encouraging behavior change by coworkers as a whole.