Illustration of a lorry driver in a red hat sat behind the wheel of a lorry driving down the road.

Image courtesy of Getty Images.

‘SHIFT’ it: New research suggests health education, fitness trackers, and cabin workouts can improve activity levels of lorry drivers

A targeted health programme, including health education sessions, fitness trackers, and lorry cabin workouts, can improve the activity levels of long-distance heavy goods drivers in the short term - according to new research led by ÌìÌÃÊÓƵ.

Study lead Dr Stacy Clemes hopes the results of the ‘Structured Health Intervention For Truckers’ (SHIFT) randomised controlled trial, published today in BMC Medicine, will “lead to a policy-level change in driver training provision, and, in turn, lead to longer-term improvements in drivers’ health and road safety”.

There are approximately 300,000 heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers in the UK, but recently the industry has faced challenges with driver shortages and attracting new drivers. It is well established that HGV drivers are exposed to a number of health-related risk factors, such as shift work and long periods of sedentary behaviour (sitting), which contribute towards chronic conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

Dr Clemes, in collaboration with colleagues from ÌìÌÃÊÓƵ, the Diabetes Research Centre, University of Leicester, and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, investigated whether HGV driver health could be improved using the specially designed SHIFT health programme by recruiting and working with 382 long-distance HGV drivers from 25 transport sites in the Midlands, UK.

From January 2018, drivers were either assigned to a six-month SHIFT programme (183 participants) or to a ‘control arm’ (199 participants) – which meant drivers received no intervention, therefore any changes as a result of the programme could be observed.

Participants in the SHIFT arm of the trial received a six-hour education and health-behaviour change session, had access to a health coach for support, and were provided with a fitness tracker to monitor activity levels and set goals. They were also introduced to a workout that they could follow in their lorry cabin and provided with resistance bands and balls. Participants were encouraged to maintain the health programme for six months.

Findings

Participants in both arms of the trial were followed up six months and between 16 and 18 months later.

The researchers found:

  • After six months, participants in the SHIFT programme walked on average an additional 1,000 steps per day than the control group (equivalent to approximately 10 minutes of brisk walking)
  • They also spent less time sitting per day than the control group (around 24 minutes less) and accumulated about six more minutes a day of moderate to vigorous activities
  • However, the authors report no differences between the groups for other health outcomes such as fruit and vegetable intake, sleep duration or efficiency, or mental wellbeing
  • The differences they did observe at six months were not apparent after sixteen to eighteen months - which coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The authors conclude that, although the longer-term benefits of the SHIFT programme are unclear, it should be incorporated into HGV driver training courses to promote activity and help improve the health of this key workforce.

“While HGV drivers undertake compulsory Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) training, this does not cover in detail lifestyle health behaviours”, Dr Clemes explains.

“The SHIFT programme has the potential to fill this void and to make an impact on drivers’ activity, which in turn could have positive health benefits for all drivers.

“We now hope to work with HGV drivers, industry stakeholders, including training providers and regulators, to translate our ‘SHIFT’ programme into a mandatory driver training module that will be accessible to UK HGV drivers.

“We hope that this work could lead to a policy-level change in driver training provision, and, in turn, lead to longer-term improvements in drivers’ health and road safety.

“Over time we also hope to expand the SHIFT programme, and our portfolio of health resources for drivers, by also incorporating elements focusing on sleep and diet, through further ongoing work in these areas.”

Professor Thomas Yates, from the University of Leicester, added: “Even small changes in walking, as little as five minutes a day, have a meaningful impact on the risk of developing a long-term chronic disease such as type 2 diabetes, so the changes observed in this study were hugely important and likely to meaningfully improve the longer-term health of the lorry drivers involved.”

The findings of the study, titled ‘The effectiveness of the Structured Health Intervention For Truckers (SHIFT): a cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT)’, can be found in full

Notes for editors

Press release reference number: 22/98

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR):

The mission of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. We do this by:
• Funding high quality, timely research that benefits the NHS, public health and social care;
• Investing in world-class expertise, facilities and a skilled delivery workforce to translate discoveries into improved treatments and services;
• Partnering with patients, service users, carers and communities, improving the relevance, quality and impact of our research;
• Attracting, training and supporting the best researchers to tackle complex health and social care challenges;
• Collaborating with other public funders, charities and industry to help shape a cohesive and globally competitive research system;
• Funding applied global health research and training to meet the needs of the poorest people in low and middle income countries.
NIHR is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. Its work in low and middle income countries is principally funded through UK Aid from the UK government.

For more information, contact the NIHR press office on 020 4576 0660 or email pressoffice@nihr.ac.uk.

ÌìÌÃÊÓƵ:

ÌìÌÃÊÓƵ is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2022 QS World University Rankings and University of the Year for Sport by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2022.

ÌìÌÃÊÓƵ is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 7th in The UK Complete University Guide 2022, and 10th in both the Guardian University League Table 2022 and the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022.

ÌìÌÃÊÓƵ is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, ÌìÌÃÊÓƵ has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

The ÌìÌÃÊÓƵ London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.

Categories