title: Health status, intention to seek health examination, and participation in health education among taxi drivers in jinan, china.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Taxi drivers are exposed to various risk factors such as work overload, stress, an irregular diet, and a sedentary lifestyle, which make these individuals vulnerable to many diseases. This study was designed to assess the health status of this occupational group.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective was to explore the health status, the intention to seek health examination, and participation in health education among taxi drivers in Jinan, China.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample-size was determined scientifically. The systematic sampling procedure was used for selecting the sample. Four hundred taxi drivers were randomly selected from several taxi companies in Jinan. In total, 396 valid questionnaires (from 370 males and 26 females) were returned. Health status, intention to seek health examination, and participation in health education were assessed by a self-designed questionnaire. Other personal information including sex, age, ethnicity, marital status, years of employment as a taxi driver, education level, and habits were also collected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This survey revealed that 54.8% of taxi drivers reported illness in the last two weeks and 44.7% of participants reported chronic diseases. The prevalence rates of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, gastroenteritis, arthritis, and heart disease were 18.2%, 8.8%, 26%, 18.4%, and 4.8% of questioned taxi drivers, respectively. Significant self-reported symptoms included fatigue, waist and back pain, headache, dyspepsia, and dry throat affecting 49.7%, 26.2%, 23.5%, 26%, and 27% of participants, respectively. In total, 90.1% of subjects thought that it was necessary to receive a regular health examination. Only 17.9% of subjects had been given information about health education, and significantly, more than 87% of subjects who had been given information about health education reported that the information had been helpful.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Taxi drivers' health was poor in our survey. Thus, using health education interventions to improve knowledge and change in behaviors are necessary and effective programs that improve the health of individuals in this special occupational group are needed.
authors.affiliation: Health Examination Center, QiLu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology People's Hospital of LaiWu, LaiWu, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Sheng
authors.initials: XS
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Health Examination Center, QiLu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Cui-Huan
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: Health Examination Center, QiLu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Health Examination Center, QiLu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Health Examination Center, QiLu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Shu-Qing
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: Health Education; Health Services Needs and Demand; Health Status; Health Surveys; Occupational Disease