Engaging men from blue-collar industries in weight loss: Tailoring recruitment and treatment approaches

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ABSTRACT Men working in blue-collar industries (e.g., machine operation, transportation, construction, etc.) have a high prevalence of overweight and obesity and have high rates of comorbidities associated with obesity. Unfortunately, these men are unlikely to participate in evidenced-based weight loss interventions. To improve their participation in these programs, a multidisciplinary approach is needed. To address this need, I am applying for this Mentored Research Scientist Development Award to gain additional scientific and technical skills in 1) qualitative methods, 2) communication science, and 3) health economics and apply these skills to intervention development and evaluation. My mentoring team includes psychologists with expertise in behavioral intervention development (Drs. Appelhans and Powell), a men’s health communication and qualitative methodology expert (Dr. Baglia), and a health economist (Dr. Walton). Along with my mentoring team, I have developed a rigorous training plan that will allow me to simultaneously fill the gaps in my training while conducting impactful work focused on an understudied population. I will investigate how to develop recruitment messages that encourage participation in weight loss programs and adapt behavioral weight loss strategies for use among men working in blue-collar industries. Aim 1 of this project is to determine how to tailor recruitment messages and intervention components to maximize reach and engagement of men in weight loss programs. I will conduct semi-structured interviews and focus groups with men from the target population followed by an online closed-response survey. The survey will include a discrete choice experiment which provides data to develop models of participants’ relative preferences for intervention and message components. The second aim is to test the feasibility of using refined messages and intervention components in a randomized trial. The results of this project are crucial for developing appropriate ways to reach this high burden and underserved population and will yield compelling preliminary data for my R01 application. Further, by completing this project I will have the training to launch my career as an independent investigator focused on developing behavioral interventions for underserved populations.