title: Adapting a natural (lay) helpers model of change for worksite health promotion for women.
abstract: Social network interventions that utilize informal systems of helping can be an important strategy for health promotion change. This article describes the development, implementation and evaluation of a natural (lay) helping intervention for health promotion change, specifically designed for women in small rural blue-collar worksites. One hundred and four women in four intervention worksites were recruited as natural helpers, and received health and skill-building education over an 18-month period. Qualitative evaluation showed: (1) two patterns of natural helping for women, i.e. participation due to a specific health concern with either themselves or others in their personal networks, and participation due to a larger sense of the importance of health and prevention; (2) over time natural helpers expanded the diffusion of health promotion information from close network members to co-workers and were more likely to be approached by their co-workers for information; (3) group activities at the worksite, particularly around physical activity, increased over time; and (4) because of time constraints at the workplace, written materials were a major way of spreading information to co-workers. This study shows that women can be recruited and trained to diffuse health promotion information and provide support to co-workers for health behavior change.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center, West Virginia University, Morgantown 26506, USA.
authors.forename: I A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Tessaro
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Belton
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Benedict
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kelsey
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: DeVellis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017146:Models, Organizational; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D012424:Rural Population; D012944:Social Support; D014931:Women, Working / Q000193:education*; D017132:Workplace