200 drivers to participate in digital health research project

by Today's Trucking

Moncton University researcher Dr. Jalila Jbilou and her team will work with 200 professional truck drivers on a real-world and real-time digital health project, according to a news release.

THAT (Truckers’ Health Adaptive Technology) aims to develop behavioral interventions and enhanced standards of integrated primary care for healthy living behaviors, to prevent or alleviate chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and sleep apnea.

Daily monitoring and measurements of glucose, blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, stress level, and number of steps will be collected, in addition to blood tests, body weight, waist circumference, and height.

Picture of people standing in front of trucks
(Photo: Moncton University)

The team will also create a behavioural profile based on active living, healthy eating, tobacco cessation, mindfulness, and self-management of chronic disease (medication use, preventive behaviors like screening, vaccination, and monitoring).

This project involves a public-private partnership via the New Brunswick Labor Market Research and Analysis program, the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation, WorkSafeNB, and six trucking companies including Armour Transportation Systems, Atlantic Pacific Transport, Day & Ross, Midland Transport, Seaboard Transport, and RST-Sunbury Transport, as well as members of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association (APTA).

“The professional drivers in Atlantic Canada and their wellbeing are at the center of our strategy to keep our industry healthy,” said Jean-Marc Picard, APTA executive director. “Drivers don’t have the same lifestyle as someone working a regular 9-to-5. They are on the road all the time and don’t have a normal schedule. Therefore, this initiative will give them access to the health services they need while on the road. … Perhaps this will also help us to attract more drivers to our industry.”


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