Abstract
Security workers in South Africa (SA) form a significant part of the country’s workforce and they have been earmarked to be at risk for cardiovascular disease, due to the long hours and repetitive nature of their work, sociodemographic status, and associated health behaviours. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the cardiovascular disease risk profile of non-office-based corporate security personnel in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. A secondary aim was to examine the relationship between these workers’ cardiovascular disease risks classification and their sociodemographic profile (e.g. age, gender, income, etc.), occupational characteristics (e.g. hours per shift, number of shifts, commuting time to work, etc.), and health behaviour (e.g. dietary habits, levels of physical activity, alcohol use).
A cross-sectional exploratory descriptive research design was adopted in which 101 male and female security workers (Mage 41.10 , SD = 9.72) were recruited to complete an online survey that consisted of demographic items, the American College of Sports Medicine Risk Stratification screening tool, International Physical Activity questionnaire, Food Frequency Questionnaire Short-Form, and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Descriptive statistics characterised participants to mostly work 60 and more hours per week (79.2%) with a 1–2 hours’ commuting time to-and-from work per day (54.5%). It was also noted that participants exhibited moderate levels of physical activity and CVD risk classification with apposite levels of health behaviour in terms of alcohol use and dietary habits. Chi-square tests and ETA analyses (confirmed by Pearson’s correlation) identified gender, hours on duty per week, and years employed as security worker to be significantly associated with CVD risk classification. Furthermore, significant associations between CVD risk classification and the frequency in the intake of fruit and vegetable, animal protein, grains, dairy, and coffee/tea were also noted.
These findings provide the evidence for understanding the risks that could pave the way for company policy refinement/development on workplace interventions that could mitigate security workers’ CVD risk and promote their health behaviour.
Key words: security workers, cardiovascular disease, socioeconomic status, physical activity, health behaviour.