Social support and health behaviors among blue-collar women workers

Objective: To determine whether there is a relationship between baseline le vels of social support and women's health behaviors. Methods: Baseline surv eys for 859 women assessed smoking, diet (fat, fruit, and vegetable consump tion), physical activity, breast and cervical cancer screening, and levels of social support. Results Women had substantial social networks and a high level of interaction with their coworkers. Social support was associated w ith physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake, and cervical cancer scre ening. Conclusion: Findings suggest that work-site health-promotion program s for women could benefit from intervening at the social-network level, esp ecially for some health behaviors.