Predictors of Japanese Workers’ Motivation to Use the Results of Worksite Health Checkups in Their Daily Health Management

Predictors of Japanese Workers' Motivation to Use the Results of Worksite Health Checkups in Their Daily Health Management

YASUSHI KUDO,¹ MITSUSHI OKADA,² MASASHI TSUNODA,² TOSHIHIKO SATOH³ and YOSHIHARU AIZAWA²

¹Graduate School of Medical Science, Kitasato University, Sagamihara, Japan
²Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Japan
³Kitasato Clinical Research Center, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Japan

Japanese law stipulates that workers undergo worksite health checkups. If workers do not use their results of those checkups in their daily health management, the merit of this law will not be realized. Therefore, it is important to identify the predictors to improve their motivation to use the results of health checkups. We investigated those predictors by using a questionnaire survey. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted for 1,791 subjects (1,530 males and 261 females) at a Japanese manufacturing plant. The average age of enrolled subjects was 42.0 years (standard deviation [S.D.], 13.4 years). The average age of male subjects was 42.3 (S.D., 13.8) years and that of the female subjects was 39.9 (S.D., 10.4) years. The results revealed that as workers advanced in age, they maintained their motivation more to use those results. Women maintained their motivation more than men. Workers who believe that their health depends on the influence from physicians and healthcare providers in hospitals felt motivated. Workers who realized the effectiveness of those checkups to maintain good health, who knew how to adopt an appropriate lifestyle, and who were given consultations with physicians when they received their health checkups, felt motivated. Regarding the healthcare organizations' and occupational health staffs' responsibilities, only detecting illness early is not sufficient. Those healthcare providers must value more primary prevention. Our findings can be applied to various occupational health activities, including health consultations, health education seminars, and providing appropriate instruction on how to interpret the results of the worksite health checkups.

keywords —— health checkup; worker; workplace; motivation; lifestyle.

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Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2009, 219, 231-241

Correspondence: Yasushi Kudo, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kitasato University, 1-15-1 Kitasato, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 228-8555, Japan.

e-mail: ykudo@med.kitasato-u.ac.jp