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Project Overview
It can be challenging for people working in the transport industry to lead a healthy lifestyle with many transport drivers managing occupational pressures that adversely affect their health to a greater extent than workers in other industries. Compared with the Australian population, Queensland transport and storage workers in particularly drivers, have a higher rate of chronic disease associated with their occupational environment, unhealthy nutritional intake, a sedentary lifestyle, smoking habits, and excessive weight gain.
A safe driver must be healthy and fit enough to anticipate driving distances and react quickly. In the case of long-haul transport, drivers must also be healthy and fit enough to stay alert for long periods of time.
Long-haul drivers are especially vulnerable to health conditions because of the nature of their job. It involves prolonged sitting, continuous noise, shift work, overnight driving, strict timetables and sometimes insufficient rest. These are all factors that can erode the health and fitness of a driver and lead to an increased risk of an on-road incident such as a crash.
In 2020 the Queensland Trucking Association was awarded funding for the QTA Driving Better Health Project to support truck drivers to access health assessement to address key risk factors.
The project involved taking a mobile health clinic to work places to enable workers in the transport industry access health assessments to address The assessments were undertaken by a mobile health clinic travelling around Queensland to deliver over 400 health assessments to people working in the transport and logistics industry.
The health assessments undertaken, addressed key conditions including:
- Nutrition
- Movement and Fitness
- Psychological Health
- Sleep
- Alcohol and Smoking
- Social Health
- Blood pressure
- Body composition
- Respiratory function
- Metabolic risks (diabetes, liver function, lipid profile and kidney function)
The project was funded by the Australian Government through the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) Heavy Vehicle Safety (HVSI) Funding.