ObesitySHIFT OnboardNCT03730792
Success & Health Impacts For Transit Drivers During Onboarding
A study testing SHIFT Onboard Intervention in people with Obesity, run by Oregon Health and Science University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The project is a cluster randomized controlled trial of an occupational health intervention for newly hired bus operators. Transit authorities will be randomized to intervention and usual practice conditions and new bus operators will be recruited to participate in a two year study. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 21 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Obesity
- What is being tested?
- SHIFT Onboard Intervention
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 284 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 22 Mar 2020to Jul 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 21 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Hired to work as a transit bus operator at a participating transit authority, and currently in the pre-service training period
Who cannot join
- Female participants who are pregnant or become pregnant during the study period will be excluded from body weight related intervention activities and outcome analyses
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Oregon Health & Science University
Portland, Oregon, 97239
About this study
Official title: SHIFT Onboard: Protecting New Transit Operators Against Safety and Health Hazards
The project is a cluster randomized controlled trial of an occupational health intervention for newly hired bus operators. Transit authorities will be randomized to intervention and usual practice conditions and new bus operators will be recruited to participate in a two year study. Intervention participants will complete a program designed to prevent weight gain while also supporting early adjustment and job success. Control participants will experience standard or usual practice working conditions.
Read the detailed description
Epidemiological evidence indicates that bus driving is associated with increased risk for obesity and some chronic diseases, and that it is time for interventions. In this regard, the early transition into bus driving has been neglected. Not only are interventions lacking for new employees entering potentially obesogenic occupations, but workplace training and socialization programs for new hires (referred to as onboarding) rarely address potential occupational health hazards.
To address research gaps, investigators will integrate an effective health intervention approach with traditional onboarding programs for new bus drivers. This intervention approach, which was originally developed with commercial truck drivers, was implemented through a mobile friendly website, and tactics included an incentivized game-like competition that was supported with behavior and body weight logging, computer-based training, and motivational interviewing. In a cluster-randomized trial with commercial truck drivers the intervention produced a mean body weight effect of -7.29 lbs (p<.0001; Olson et al, 2016), which is among the strongest results observed globally with occupational drivers.
In the proposed intervention adaptation, the "SHIFT Onboard" intervention (Success \& Health Impacts For Transit drivers during Onboarding) will be designed to prevent weight gain among new bus drivers while also supporting early adjustment and job success. The primary hypotheses are that relative to usual practice, SHIFT Onboard participants will have (1) superior energy balance behaviors (sleep, eating, exercise) and (2) less weight gain. Investigators will also evaluate impacts on new employee adjustment and economic outcomes that are critical to employers; the ultimate adopters of occupational health interventions. This project will take place over five years and will accomplish three specific aims:
- Adapt proven tactics and pilot SHIFT Onboard with new bus drivers: Through formative research with transit partners and iterative testing with drivers investigators will adapt existing web technology, intervention tactics, and training content for newly hired mass transit bus drivers. The adapted SHIFT Onboard intervention will then be pilot tested with new drivers at a partner transit authority.
- Determine the efficacy of SHIFT Onboard for preventing weight gain. Metropolitan transit authorities, stratified by size, will be randomly assigned to intervention or usual practice control conditions. SHIFT Onboard will be implemented with natural groups of bus operators who complete training together during the first year. Primary intervention effectiveness outcomes will be between-groups differences at 1- and 2-year follow-ups in changes in energy balance behaviors (sleep, eating, exercise) and body weight.
- Evaluate new employee adjustment and economic impacts of SHIFT Onboard. Investigators will also evaluate intervention impacts on new bus operator adjustment (role stress, confidence, connectedness) and job attitudes (job satisfaction, intention to remain). Economic return on investment calculations will contrast intervention costs relative to savings projected from intervention effects (e.g., health care costs, absenteeism, safety).
Investigators will also collect measures of work demands, stressors, and strains (responses to stressors) at all time points to characterize occupational exposures among the sample, and to explore for possible associations with workers' health outcomes.
- Conditions
- Obesity
- Being tested
- SHIFT Onboard Intervention
- Keywords
- Body Weight, Nutrition, Physical Activity, Sleep, Stress, Occupational Health, Working Conditions
- Medical subject headings
- Obesity, Body Weight, Motor Activity
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
SHIFT Onboard InterventionBehavioural
A 12-month onboarding process and social challenge supported with goal setting, computer-based training, self-monitoring, and group motivational interviewing.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| SHIFT Onboard Intervention | Experimental | A 12-month onboarding process and social challenge supported with goal setting, computer-based training, self-monitoring, and group motivational interviewing. Receives: Behavioral: SHIFT Onboard Intervention |
| Usual Practice Control | No intervention | Participants experience standard or "Usual Practices" in new employee onboarding processes at their workplace. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change from baseline in body weight at 12 and 24 months
Directly measured body weight in kg.
Measured: Baseline, 12, and 24 months
Body Mass Index
Calculated from directly measured weight and height (kg/m^2).
Measured: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Change from baseline in percent body fat
Percent body fat measured through bioelectric impedence
Measured: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Change from baseline in self-reported fruit and vegetable intake at 12 and 24 months
Survey measures of fruit and vegetable intake.
Measured: Baseline, 12, and 24 months
Change from baseline in self-reported consumption of high fat foods at 12 and 24 months.
Survey measure of high fat food consumption frequency and portion sizes.
Measured: Baseline, 12 and 24 months.
Change from baseline in self-reported sugary food and drink consumption at 12 and 24 months
Survey measure of the frequency of sugary food and drink consumption.
Measured: Baseline, 12 and 24 months.
Change from baseline in self-reported fast food consumption.
Survey measure of the frequency of fast food consumption.
Measured: Baseline, 12 and 24 months.
Change from baseline in self-reported physical activity at 12 and 24 months
Survey measures of daily/weekly physical activity levels.
Measured: Baseline, 12, and 24 months
Change from baseline in actigraphically measured physical activity at 12 and 24 months
Actigraphy measures of daily/weekly of physical activity levels.
Measured: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Change from baseline in self-reported sleep quality at 12 and 24 months
Survey measures of typical sleep quality.
Measured: Baseline, 12, and 24 months
Change from baseline in self-reported sleep quantity at 12 and 24 months
Survey measures of typical daily sleep time.
Measured: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Change from baseline in actigraphically measured sleep quality at 12 and 24 months
Actigraphy measures of sleep quality as indicated by minutes of Wake After Sleep Onset in main sleep periods.
Measured: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Change from baseline in actigraphically measured sleep quantity at 12 and 24 months
Actigraphy measures of sleep duration in minutes for the daily main sleep period and naps.
Measured: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Secondary outcomes (10)
Changes in job role conflict
Survey measures of job role conflict.
Measured: Baseline, 12, and 24 months
Changes in perceived acceptance by others
Survey measures of perceived acceptance by others.
Measured: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Changes in job-related self-efficacy
Survey measures of job-related self-efficacy.
Measured: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Changes in job satisfaction
Survey measure of job satisfaction
Measured: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Changes in intention to remain at job
Survey measures of intention to remain.
Measured: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Economic cost-benefit factors
Intervention costs (e.g., participant wages, fees for group facilitators, cost of resources/tech support, intervention incentives) will be contrasted with estimated savings (e.g., estimates of health care cost savings based on weight changes, and estimates of costs/savings utilizing corporate data for study participants on absenteeism, job turnover, bus collisions, driver injuries and workers' compensation claims, and passenger/pedestrian/other driver injuries).
Measured: 12 month intervention costs, and a target minimum of four years of corporate data for each agency (2 historical, 2 during study period)
Absenteeism
Organizational records of absenteeism for new bus operators
Measured: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Job turnover
Organizational records of job turnover among new bus operators
Measured: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Bus collisions
Organizational records of bus collisions among new bus operators
Measured: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Injuries
Organizational records of bus operator and passenger injuries
Measured: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted5 Nov 2018
- Study start22 Mar 2020
- Primary completion23 Oct 2024
- Study completionJul 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (2)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for ObesityStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Oregon Health and Science UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 284 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Oregon Health and Science University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Ryan Olson, Oregon Health and Science University
- Investigators
- Ryan Olson, PhD, Principal investigator, Oregon Health and Science University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03730792
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 20047
- Other IDs
- 2R01HL105495-06A1
- Acronym
- SHIFT Onboard
- Status last verified
- Nov 2025
- First submitted
- 30 Oct 2018
- Last updated
- 28 Nov 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Olson R, Wipfli B, Thompson SV, Elliot DL, Anger WK, Bodner T, Hammer LB, Perrin NA. Weight Control Intervention for Truck Drivers: The SHIFT Randomized Controlled Trial, United States. Am J Public Health. 2016 Sep;106(9):1698-706. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303262. Epub 2016 Jul 27.
PubMed 27463067Olson R, Stoffregen SA, Bauer TN, Wipfli B, Anger WK, Bodner T, Graven P, McHill AW, Donovan C. Who's Behind the Wheel? Work and Health Backgrounds of New Transit Bus Operators. J Occup Environ Med. 2024 Dec 1;66(12):1022-1029. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000003235. Epub 2024 Sep 26.
PubMed 39322404
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 28 Nov 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- SHIFT Onboard: Protecting New Transit Operators Against Safety and Health Hazards
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03730792
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- SHIFT Onboard / 20047
- Conditions
- Obesity
- Keywords
- Body Weight, Nutrition, Physical Activity, Sleep, Stress, Occupational Health, Working Conditions
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Active, not recruiting
- Enrolment
- 284 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Oregon Health and Science UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
- Study start
- 22 Mar 2020 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 23 Oct 2024 (actual)
- Study completion
- Jul 2026 (estimated)
- First posted
- 5 Nov 2018 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The project is a cluster randomized controlled trial of an occupational health intervention for newly hired bus operators. Transit authorities will be randomized to intervention and usual practice conditions and new bus operators will be recruited to participate in a two year study. Intervention participants will complete a program designed to prevent weight gain while also supporting early adjustment and job success. Control participants will experience standard or usual practice working conditions.
Detailed description
Epidemiological evidence indicates that bus driving is associated with increased risk for obesity and some chronic diseases, and that it is time for interventions. In this regard, the early transition into bus driving has been neglected. Not only are interventions lacking for new employees entering potentially obesogenic occupations, but workplace training and socialization programs for new hires (referred to as onboarding) rarely address potential occupational health hazards.
To address research gaps, investigators will integrate an effective health intervention approach with traditional onboarding programs for new bus drivers. This intervention approach, which was originally developed with commercial truck drivers, was implemented through a mobile friendly website, and tactics included an incentivized game-like competition that was supported with behavior and body weight logging, computer-based training, and motivational interviewing. In a cluster-randomized trial with commercial truck drivers the intervention produced a mean body weight effect of -7.29 lbs (p<.0001; Olson et al, 2016), which is among the strongest results observed globally with occupational drivers.
In the proposed intervention adaptation, the "SHIFT Onboard" intervention (Success \& Health Impacts For Transit drivers during Onboarding) will be designed to prevent weight gain among new bus drivers while also supporting early adjustment and job success. The primary hypotheses are that relative to usual practice, SHIFT Onboard participants will have (1) superior energy balance behaviors (sleep, eating, exercise) and (2) less weight gain. Investigators will also evaluate impacts on new employee adjustment and economic outcomes that are critical to employers; the ultimate adopters of occupational health interventions. This project will take place over five years and will accomplish three specific aims:
- Adapt proven tactics and pilot SHIFT Onboard with new bus drivers: Through formative research with transit partners and iterative testing with drivers investigators will adapt existing web technology, intervention tactics, and training content for newly hired mass transit bus drivers. The adapted SHIFT Onboard intervention will then be pilot tested with new drivers at a partner transit authority.
- Determine the efficacy of SHIFT Onboard for preventing weight gain. Metropolitan transit authorities, stratified by size, will be randomly assigned to intervention or usual practice control conditions. SHIFT Onboard will be implemented with natural groups of bus operators who complete training together during the first year. Primary intervention effectiveness outcomes will be between-groups differences at 1- and 2-year follow-ups in changes in energy balance behaviors (sleep, eating, exercise) and body weight.
- Evaluate new employee adjustment and economic impacts of SHIFT Onboard. Investigators will also evaluate intervention impacts on new bus operator adjustment (role stress, confidence, connectedness) and job attitudes (job satisfaction, intention to remain). Economic return on investment calculations will contrast intervention costs relative to savings projected from intervention effects (e.g., health care costs, absenteeism, safety).
Investigators will also collect measures of work demands, stressors, and strains (responses to stressors) at all time points to characterize occupational exposures among the sample, and to explore for possible associations with workers' health outcomes.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| SHIFT Onboard Intervention | Experimental | Behavioral: SHIFT Onboard InterventionA 12-month onboarding process and social challenge supported with goal setting, computer-based training, self-monitoring, and group motivational interviewing. |
| Usual Practice Control | No intervention | –Participants experience standard or "Usual Practices" in new employee onboarding processes at their workplace. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 21 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Hired to work as a transit bus operator at a participating transit authority, and currently in the pre-service training period
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Female participants who are pregnant or become pregnant during the study period will be excluded from body weight related intervention activities and outcome analyses
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| SHIFT Onboard InterventionA 12-month onboarding process and social challenge supported with goal setting, computer-based training, self-monitoring, and group motivational interviewing. | Behavioural | SHIFT Onboard Intervention |
Primary outcome
Change from baseline in body weight at 12 and 24 months
Time frame: Baseline, 12, and 24 months
Directly measured body weight in kg.
Body Mass Index
Time frame: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Calculated from directly measured weight and height (kg/m^2).
Change from baseline in percent body fat
Time frame: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Percent body fat measured through bioelectric impedence
Change from baseline in self-reported fruit and vegetable intake at 12 and 24 months
Time frame: Baseline, 12, and 24 months
Survey measures of fruit and vegetable intake.
Change from baseline in self-reported consumption of high fat foods at 12 and 24 months.
Time frame: Baseline, 12 and 24 months.
Survey measure of high fat food consumption frequency and portion sizes.
Change from baseline in self-reported sugary food and drink consumption at 12 and 24 months
Time frame: Baseline, 12 and 24 months.
Survey measure of the frequency of sugary food and drink consumption.
Change from baseline in self-reported fast food consumption.
Time frame: Baseline, 12 and 24 months.
Survey measure of the frequency of fast food consumption.
Change from baseline in self-reported physical activity at 12 and 24 months
Time frame: Baseline, 12, and 24 months
Survey measures of daily/weekly physical activity levels.
Change from baseline in actigraphically measured physical activity at 12 and 24 months
Time frame: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Actigraphy measures of daily/weekly of physical activity levels.
Change from baseline in self-reported sleep quality at 12 and 24 months
Time frame: Baseline, 12, and 24 months
Survey measures of typical sleep quality.
Change from baseline in self-reported sleep quantity at 12 and 24 months
Time frame: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Survey measures of typical daily sleep time.
Change from baseline in actigraphically measured sleep quality at 12 and 24 months
Time frame: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Actigraphy measures of sleep quality as indicated by minutes of Wake After Sleep Onset in main sleep periods.
Change from baseline in actigraphically measured sleep quantity at 12 and 24 months
Time frame: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Actigraphy measures of sleep duration in minutes for the daily main sleep period and naps.
10 secondary outcomes
Changes in job role conflict
Time frame: Baseline, 12, and 24 months
Changes in perceived acceptance by others
Time frame: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Changes in job-related self-efficacy
Time frame: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Changes in job satisfaction
Time frame: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Changes in intention to remain at job
Time frame: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Economic cost-benefit factors
Time frame: 12 month intervention costs, and a target minimum of four years of corporate data for each agency (2 historical, 2 during study period)
Absenteeism
Time frame: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Job turnover
Time frame: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Bus collisions
Time frame: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Injuries
Time frame: Baseline, 12 and 24 months
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 28 Nov 2025.
- Background: PubMed 27463067Olson R, Wipfli B, Thompson SV, Elliot DL, Anger WK, Bodner T, Hammer LB, Perrin NA. Weight Control Intervention for Truck Drivers: The SHIFT Randomized Controlled Trial, United States. Am J Public Health. 2016 Sep;106(9):1698-706. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303262. Epub 2016 Jul 27.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 39322404Olson R, Stoffregen SA, Bauer TN, Wipfli B, Anger WK, Bodner T, Graven P, McHill AW, Donovan C. Who's Behind the Wheel? Work and Health Backgrounds of New Transit Bus Operators. J Occup Environ Med. 2024 Dec 1;66(12):1022-1029. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000003235. Epub 2024 Sep 26.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
Related trials for Obesity
RecruitingObservational study
Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty (ESG) Prospective Trial for Obesity (EGO-Trial)
Obesity
Active, not recruitingPhase 4
Effects of Sequential Therapy With Mexidol® (Intravenous) and Mexidol® FORTE 250 (Oral) on Functional Brain Activity Assessed by Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Biochemical Parameters in Patients With Chronic Cerebral Ischemia: A Comparison of Patients With and Without Metabolic Disorders
Metabolic Abnormalities, Obesity & Overweight
Recruiting
Exercise Training and Vitamin D Metabolism
Obesity & Overweight, Vitamin D
Recruiting
Metabolic Health, Bones and Nuts During Weight Loss in Adults
Weight Loss, Bone Density
Active, not recruiting
Effect of Probiotics on Insulin Sensitivity in Overweight and Obese Pregnancy
Obesity & Overweight, Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM)
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Ryan Olson, PhD principal investigator
Oregon Health and Science University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing SHIFT Onboard Intervention in people with Obesity, run by Oregon Health and Science University at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: under way, not looking for participants, as of the sponsor's last update on 28 Nov 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Change from baseline in body weight at 12 and 24 months (time frame: Baseline, 12, and 24 months). The study lists 13 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT03730792, which also lists 2 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 28 Nov 2025.