Policy Student Looking For Resources

Hello! My name is Allison and I came to this forum in a very roundabout way and with specific intentions. I am halfway through pursuing my Master's in Public Policy and am in the process of narrowing down my thesis. My primary interest is healthcare policy , but because my husband is a diesel mechanic/shop manager, I am also interested in driver health. My policy thesis has the following requirements: Identify a problem, offer 3-4 policy alternatives, perform a cost-benefit analysis and offer a policy proposal. As I am sure most of you know, long-haul truckers have high rates of certain risk factors and negative health outcomes (excluding mental health). My intent is to address lifestyle factors that affect drivers' physical health and offer solutions to address this issue. The alternatives I am currently looking at are the availability of quality food, access to healthcare, smoking cessation programs, and the status quo.

I joined this forum at the recommendation of one of the drivers that works with my husband with the hopes that some of you would be able to provide me with some resources or pointers on how to proceed - without adequate data I will be forced to change topics. I have found a good bit of data about the health of drivers, overall, but not much in the way of studies that address the health issues. If anyone could point me in the right direction, I would be greatly appreciative and am grateful for all of your hard work!

Thank you!

 

Thank you! I considered looking at those, but because it's so recent there are no long-term studies on the health impacts, which is why it's not included. I do plan to use it in the background section and talk about how it will exacerbate other issues, but unfortunately it hasn't been a problem long enough for there to be enough data for topic approval. Sounds awful, I know, but that's how policy is made!