Taxonomy of barriers to healthy behavior among the working population
(in Russian)
Abstract
The article presents a taxonomy of psychological barriers to healthy behavior of a working person using a multi-level approach. Scientific interest in this topic is associated with the lack of systemic studies in the Russian psychological research field devoted to barriers to healthy behavior of working people, notwithstanding their high importance for the prevention of non-communicable diseases and maintaining professional longevity. Purpose. The purpose of the article is to systematize the available domestic and foreign data and present a taxonomy of barriers to healthy behavior based on a multi-level approach. Method. The review includes studies published from the 1980s to 2025, mainly meta-analytical and systematic reviews, as well as empirical work on samples of employees of various professional groups. The age of the respondents ranged from 18 to 65 years, with special attention paid to middle-aged working people as a critical period of health changes. Due to the weak representation of the phenomenon of barriers to healthy behavior in Russian science, data from foreign studies were analyzed. Findings. The article clarifies the concept of barriers to healthy behavior as obstacles that a person encounters on the path to achieving a healthy lifestyle and are potential triggers for unhealthy behavior. It is revealed that the barriers are complex and interrelated, which makes the reductionist approach (which is limited to the individual level of consideration of barriers to healthy behavior) insufficient. It is also proposed to take into account the interpersonal, institutional (organizational)
and state levels. The authors see the prospect of research in a detailed consideration of barriers to healthy behavior on a sample of specific specialists. Implementation in practice. From a practical point of view, the proposed approach allows developing comprehensive health and well-being programs that take into account the cognitive, emotional and behavioral characteristics of the employee, the social context, organizational culture and state health promotion strategies.
Downloads
References
Веракса, Н. Е., Веракса, А. Н. (2014). Понимание детского развития с позиции экологической теории У. Бронфенбреннера. Современное дошкольное образование, (10), 56–65.
Всемирная организация здравоохранения (2024). Неинфекционные заболевания, 23/12/2024 https://www.who.int/ru/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/noncommunicable-diseases
Гофман, О. О., Банаян, А. А., Киселева, Е. А. (2023). Психическая саморегуляция как ресурс сохранения профессионального здоровья. Организационная психология, 13(2), 9–36.
Гофман, О. О., Водопьянова, Н. Е., Джумагулова, А. Ф., Никифоров, Г. С. (2023). Проблема профессионального выгорания специалистов в сфере информационных технологий: теоретический обзор. Организационная психология, 13(1), 117–144.
Гофман, О. О., Шумейко, Е., Никифоров, Г. С. (2026). Барьеры здорового поведения ИТ-специалистов: различия между мужчинами и женщинами. Вестник Московского университета. Серия 14. Психология, 49(1), 173–199. https://doi.org/10.11621/LPJ-26-07
Ермаков, Д. В., Никифоров, Г. С. (2020). Барьеры здорового поведения у сотрудников вневедомственной охраны. В сб.: Актуальные проблемы психологии правоохранительной деятельности: концепции, подходы, технологии (Васильевские чтения-2020) (195–199). Санкт-Петербург: Санкт-Петербургский университет МВД России.
Землянова, Е. И., Рослякова, С. В., Климова, Д. А., Брагина, Т. В., Лаушкина, А. А., Гофман, О. О, Быстрянцева, Н. В. (2024). Исследование влияния режимов освещения на работоспособность человека с учётом естественного освещения: опрос и эксперимент. Светотехника, (2), 26–34.
Климова, Д., Рослякова, С., Филиппов, И., Гофман, О., Брагина, Т., Землянова, Е., Быстрянцева, Н. (2023). Методология создания персонализированных адаптивных систем освещения для работников суточных смен. Светотехника, (5), 16–23.
Коновалова, В. Г. (2018). Опыт, тенденции развития и проблемы реализации корпоративных программ управления здоровьем и благополучием персонала. Управление персоналом и интеллектуальными ресурсами в России, 7(5), 19–29.
Курлова, Д. В., Никифоров, Г. С. (2021). Отношение студентов к здоровью в зависимости от их локуса контроля. Институт психологии Российской академии наук. Социальная и экономическая психология, 6(3), 98–122.
Науменко, Ю. В. (2009). Психологические основания здоровьесберегающего образования. Психолого-педагогические исследования, 1(3).
Никифоров, Г. С. (2016). Барьеры, препятствующие здоровому поведению. Институт психологии Российской академии наук. Социальная и экономическая психология, 1(4), 74–93.
Никифоров, Г. С., Гофман, О. О. (2019). Психология здоровья: актуальные научные направления. В сб.: А. Л. Журавлев, Т. А. Жалагина, Е. А. Журавлев, Е. Д. Короткина (ред.), Субъект труда и организационная среда: проблемы взаимодействия в условиях глобализации: монография (106–123). Тверь: Твер. гос. ун-т.
Погонышева, И. А., Погонышев, Д. А., Крылова, А. А. (2015). Влияние шума на психофизиологические параметры и работоспособность организма человека. Вестник Нижневартовского государственного университета, (1), 87–93.
Правительство Российской Федерации (б.д.). Федеральный закон «О специальной оценке условий труда» от 28.12.2013 N 426-ФЗ (последняя редакция) 28 декабря 2013 года N 426-ФЗ URL: https://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_156555/ (дата обращения: 06.09.2025)
Правительство Российской Федерации (б.д.). Федеральный закон «Об основах охраны здоро-вья граждан в Российской Федерации» от 21.11.2011 N 323-ФЗ (последняя редакция) URL: https://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_121895/ (дата обращения: 06.09.2025)
Рассказова, Е. И. (2014). Модели стадий изменения поведения в психологии здоровья: возмож-ности и ограничения. Вестник Московского университета. Серия 14. Психология, (4), 102–119.
Рассказова, Е. И. (2016). Психологические факторы поведения, связанного со здоровьем: на пу-ти к интегративной модели. Теоретическая и экспериментальная психология, 9(4), 124–139.
Рассказова, Е. И., Иванова, Т. Ю. (2015). Мотивационные модели поведения, связанного со здо-ровьем: проблема «разрыва» между намерением и действием. Психология. Журнал Высшей школы экономики, 12(1).
Рассказова, Е. И., Кошелева, Н. В. (2014). Психологические методы изменения поведения, свя-занного со здоровьем: возможности и ограничения. Консультативная психология и психо-терапия, 22(3), 183–205.
Рослякова, С., Климова, Д., Гофман, О., Басов, О., Быстрянцева, Н. (2025). Модель влияния искус-ственного освещения на психофизиологическое состояние для использования в адаптив-ных системах управления освещением. Светотехника, (1), 82.
Указ о национальных целях развития Российской Федерации на период до 2030 года и на перспективу до 2036 года (2024). URL: http://www.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/73986
Федеральная служба государственной статистики (б.д.). Естественное движение населения Российской Федерации. URL: https://rosstat.gov.ru/compendium/document/13269
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 50(2), 179–211.
Ajzen, I. (2011). The theory of planned behaviour: Reactions and reflections. Psychology & health, 26(9), 1113–1127.
Antal, B. B., van Nieuwenhuizen, H., Chesebro, A. G., Strey, H. H., Jones, D. T., Clarke, K., Mujica-Parodi, L. R. (2025). Brain aging shows nonlinear transitions, suggesting a midlife “critical window” for metabolic intervention. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(10), e2416433122.
APA Dictionary of Psychology (n.d.). Barrier. URL: https://dictionary.apa.org/barrier
Bailey, R. R. (2019). Goal setting and action planning for health behavior change. American journal of lifestyle medicine, 13(6), 615–618.
Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E. (2007). The job demands‐resources model: State of the art. Journal of managerial psychology, 22(3), 309–328.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1986(23–28), 2.
Bandura, A. (1991). Social cognitive theory of self-regulation. Organizational behavior and human de-cision processes, 50(2), 248–287.
Barakat, C., Konstantinidis, T. (2023). A review of the relationship between socioeconomic status change and health. International journal of environmental research and public health, 20(13), 6249.
Benevene, P., Callea, A., (2014). Organizational health among public sector and nonprofit employees: A comparison. Knowledge management, 13, 1–13. 10.18848/2327-7998/CGP/v13i03/50820.
Brehm, B. J., Gates, D. M., Singler, M., Succop, P. A., D’Alessio, D. A. (2011). Environmental changes to control obesity: a randomized controlled trial in manufacturing companies. American Journal of Health Promotion, 25(5), 334–340.
Campmans, J. M., Smit, D. J., van Oostrom, S. H., Engels, J. A., Proper, K. I. (2023). Barriers and facilita-tors to the implementation of workplace health promotion programs: Employers’ perceptions. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 1035064.
Chang, Y. T., Tsai, F. J., Yeh, C. Y., Chen, R. Y. (2021). From cognition to behavior: associations of work-place health culture and workplace health promotion performance with personal healthy lifestyles. Frontiers in Public Health, 9, 745846.
Clercq de, D., Azeem, M. U., Haq, I. U., Bouckenooghe, D. (2020). The stress-reducing effect of coworker support on turnover intentions: Moderation by political ineptness and despotic leadership. Journal of Business Research, 111, 12–24.
Deslippe, A. L., Soanes, A., Bouchaud, C. C., Beckenstein, H., Slim, M., Plourde, H., Cohen, T. R. (2023). Barriers and facilitators to diet, physical activity and lifestyle behavior intervention adherence: a qualitative systematic review of the literature. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 20(1), 14.
Donaldson, J. L., Franck, K. L. (2019). Promoting healthy lifestyles for extension employees: An exploratory study. Journal of Human Sciences and Extension, 7(3), 5.
Dukelow, T., Vassilev, P., Lawrence, E. G., Jacobson, L., Koychev, I., Muhammed, K., Kennelly, S. P. (2023). Barriers to brain health behaviours: results from the Five Lives Brain Health Ireland Survey. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1101514.
Edwards, W. (1954). The theory of decision making. Psychological bulletin, 51(4), 380.
Fishbein, M., Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Fishbein, M., Yzer, M. C. (2003). Using theory to design effective health behavior interventions. Communication Theory, 13(2), 164–183.
Fitzgerald, N., Spaccarotella, K. (2009). Barriers to a healthy lifestyle: from individuals to public policy — an ecological perspective. The Journal of Extension, 47(1), 2.
Franke, F., Felfe, J., Pundt, A. (2014). The impact of health-oriented leadership on follower health: De-velopment and test of a new instrument measuring health-promoting leadership. German Journal of Human Resource Management, 28(1-2), 139–161.
Garbarski, D. (2010). Perceived social position and health: Is there a reciprocal relationship?. Social Science & Medicine, 70(5), 692–699.
Gidlow, C., Johnston, L. H., Crone, D., Ellis, N., James, D. (2006). A systematic review of the relationship between socio-economic position and physical activity. Health education journal, 65(4), 338–367.
Gosch, N., Schulte, E. M., Kauffeld, S. (2023). Capturing the impact employees have on their coworkers and leaders: a holistic approach on health-specific support behavior from employees. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1183862.
Gugushvili, A., Jarosz, E. (2024). A longitudinal study of perceived social position and health-related quality of life. Social Science & Medicine, 340, 116446.
Hamer, O., Larkin, D., Relph, N., Dey, P. (2021). Fear‐related barriers to physical activity among adults with overweight and obesity: a narrative synthesis scoping review. Obesity Reviews, 22(11), e13307.
Hiesinger, K., Tophoven, S. (2019). Job requirement level, work demands, and health: a prospective study among older workers. International archives of occupational and environmental health, 92(8), 1139–1149.
Hobfoll, S. E., Wells, J. D. (1998). Conservation of resources, stress, and aging: Why do some slide and some spring?. In Handbook of aging and mental health: An integrative approach (121–134). Boston, MA: Springer US.
International Labour Organization (2018). Women and men in the informal economy: A statistical picture. Geneva. URL: https://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_626831/lang--en/index.htm (дата обращения: 06.09.2025).
ISO 45003:2021(en) (n.d.). Occupational health and safety management — Psychological health and safety at work — Guidelines for managing psychosocial risks URL: https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:45003:ed-1:v1:en (дата обращения: 06.09.2025)
Jackson, A. T., Mazzola, J. J., Loveless, J. P., Gargurevich, R., Jang, H., Cheon, S. H. (2025). The impact of healthy choices at work: Daily barriers, facilitators, and their effects on stress and performance. Occupational Health Science, 1–24.
Kelly, S., Martin, S., Kuhn, I., Cowan, A., Brayne, C., Lafortune, L. (2016). Barriers and facilitators to the uptake and maintenance of healthy behaviours by people at mid-life: a rapid systematic review. PLoS One, 11(1), e0145074.
Khaw, K. T., Wareham, N., Bingham, S., Welch, A., Luben, R., Day, N. (2008). Combined impact of health behaviours and mortality in men and women: the EPIC-Norfolk prospective population study. PLoS medicine, 5(1), e12.
Klug, K., Felfe, J., Krick, A. (2022). Does self-care make you a better leader? A multisource study linking leader self-care to health-oriented leadership, employee self-care, and health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(11), 6733.
Koch, T. J., Völker, J., Sonnentag, S. (2024). Healthy and successful: Health‐behavior goal striving in dai-ly work life. Stress and Health, 40(2), e3295.
Kurian, R. M., Thomas, S. (2023). Importance of positive emotions in software developers’ perfor-mance: a narrative review. Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science, 24(6), 631–645.
Lassen, A. D., Beck, A., Leedo, E., Andersen, E. W., Christensen, T., Mejborn, H., ... Tetens, I. (2014). Effec-tiveness of offering healthy labelled meals in improving the nutritional quality of lunch meals eaten in a worksite canteen. Appetite, 75, 128–134.
Laurent, J. G. C., MacNaughton, P., Jones, E., Young, A. S., Bliss, M., Flanigan, S., ... Allen, J. G. (2021). As-sociations between acute exposures to PM2. 5 and carbon dioxide indoors and cognitive function in office workers: a multicountry longitudinal prospective observational study. Environmental Re-search Letters, 16(9), 094047.
Leininger, M. M. (1991). Cultural care diversity and universality: A theory for nursing, National League of Nursing. New York. Traducido.
Maddux, J. E., Rogers, R. W. (1983). Protection motivation and self-efficacy: A revised theory of fear appeals and attitude change. Journal of experimental social psychology, 19(5), 469–479.
Marmot, M., Allen, J., Bell, R., Bloomer, E., Goldblatt, P. (2012). WHO European review of social deter-minants of health and the health divide. The Lancet, 380(9846), 1011–1029.
Mason, J. E., Faller, Y. N., LeBouthillier, D. M., Asmundson, G. J. (2019). Exercise anxiety: A qualitative analysis of the barriers, facilitators, and psychological processes underlying exercise participation for people with anxiety-related disorders. Mental Health and Physical Activity, 16, 128–139.
Mazzola, J. J., Moore, J. T., Alexander, K. (2017). Is work keeping us from acting healthy? How work-place barriers and facilitators impact nutrition and exercise behaviors. Stress and health, 33(5), 479–489.
McLeroy, K. R., Bibeau, D., Steckler, A., Glanz, K. (1988). An ecological perspective on health promotion programs. Health education quarterly, 15(4), 351–377.
Mestral de, C., Khalatbari-Soltani, S., Stringhini, S., Marques-Vidal, P. (2020). Perceived barriers to healthy eating and adherence to dietary guidelines: Nationwide study. Clinical nutrition, 39(8), 2580–2585.
Molen van der, H. F., De Vries, S., Sluiter, J. K. (2018). Occupational diseases among workers in lower and higher socioeconomic positions. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(12), 2849.
Monteiro, E., Joseph, J. (2023). A review on the impact of workplace culture on employee mental health and well-being. International Journal of Case Studies in Business, IT and Education (IJCSBE), 7(2), 291–317.
Murray, J., Craigs, C. L., Hill, K. M. et al. (2012). A systematic review of patient reported factors associ-ated with uptake and completion of cardiovascular lifestyle behaviour change. BMC Cardiovasc Disord 12, 120. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2261-12-120
Myint, P. K., Smith, R. D., Luben, R. N., Surtees, P. G., Wainwright, N. W., Wareham, N. J., Khaw, K. T. (2011). Lifestyle behaviours and quality-adjusted life years in middle and older age. Age and ageing, 40(5), 589–595.
Nea, F. M., Pourshahidi, L. K., Kearney, J., Livingstone, M. B. E., Bassul, C., Corish, C. A. (2017). A qualita-tive exploration of the shift work experience: the perceived barriers and facilitators to a healthier lifestyle and the role of the workplace environment. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 59(12), 1153–1160.
Parry, S., Straker, L. (2013). The contribution of office work to sedentary behaviour associated risk. BMC public health, 13(1), 296.
Pender, N. J., Bar-Or, O., Wilk, B., Mitchell, S. (2002). Self-efficacy and perceived exertion of girls during exercise. Nursing research, 51(2), 86–91.
Pender, N. J., Murdaugh, C. L., Parsons, M. A. (2015). Health promotion in nursing practice. Pearson, Seventh edition.
Pender, N. J., Walker, S. N., Sechrist, K. R., Frank-Stromborg, M. (1990). Predicting health-promoting lifestyles in the workplace. Nursing research, 39(6), 326-332.
Pinho, M. G. M., Mackenbach, J. D., Charreire, H., Oppert, J. M., Bárdos, H., Glonti, K., ... Lakerveld, J. (2018). Exploring the relationship between perceived barriers to healthy eating and dietary behav-iours in European adults. European journal of nutrition, 57(5), 1761–1770.
Pinto, B., Ulman, S., Assi, H. (2004). Prevalence of occupational diseases in information technology in-dustries in Goa. Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 8(1), 30–33.
Prochaska, J. O., DiClemente, C. C. (1983). Stages and processes of self-change of smoking: toward an integrative model of change. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 51(3), 390.
Qutubuddin, S. M., Hebbal, S. S., Kumar, A. C. S. (2012). A review on effect of industrial noise on the performance of worker and productivity. International Review of Applied Engineering Research, 2(1), 43–54.
Rehnberg, J., Östergren, O., Esser, I., Lundberg, O. (2021). Interdependent pathways between socioeco-nomic position and health: a Swedish longitudinal register-based study. Social Science & Medicine, 280, 114038.
Rijen van, D., Ten Hoor, G. A. (2023). A qualitative analysis of facilitators and barriers to physical activ-ity among patients with moderate mental disorders. Journal of Public Health, 31(9), 1401–1416.
Rosenstock, I. M. (1974). The health belief model and preventive health behavior. Health education monographs, 2(4), 354–386.
Rosenstock, I. M., Strecher, V. J., Becker, M. H. (1988). Social learning theory and the health belief model. Health Educ Q,15(2), 175–183. doi: 10.1177/109019818801500203. PMID: 3378902.
Rugulies, R., Aust, B., Madsen, I. E., Burr, H., Siegrist, J., Bültmann, U. (2013). Adverse psychosocial working conditions and risk of severe depressive symptoms. Do effects differ by occupational grade?. The European Journal of Public Health, 23(3), 415–420.
Sabia, S., Singh-Manoux, A., Hagger-Johnson, G., Cambois, E., Brunner, E. J., Kivimaki, M. (2012). Influ-ence of individual and combined healthy behaviours on successful aging. Cmaj, 184(18), 1985–1992.
Safeer, R., Allen, J. (2019). Defining a culture of health in the workplace. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 61(11), 863–867.
Sajwani, A. I., Hashi, F., Abdelghany, E., Alomari, A., Alananzeh, I. (2024). Workplace barriers and facili-tators to nurses’ healthy eating behaviours: a qualitative systematic review. Contemporary Nurse, 60(3), 270–299.
Seppanen, O., Fisk, W. J., Lei, Q. H. (2006). Effect of temperature on task performance in office environ-ment. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA.
Shen, X., Wang, C., Zhou, X., Zhou, W., Hornburg, D., Wu, S., Snyder, M. P. (2024). Nonlinear dynamics of multiomics profiles during human aging. Nature aging, 4(11), 1619–1634.
Singh, P., Suar, D., Leiter, M. P. (2012). Antecedents, work-related consequences, and buffers of job burnout among Indian software developers. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 19(1), 83–104.
Subramaniam, M., Devi, F., AshaRani, P. V., Zhang, Y., Wang, P., Jeyagurunathan, A., ... Chong, S. A. (2022). Barriers and facilitators for adopting a healthy lifestyle in a multi-ethnic population: A qual-itative study. PLoS One, 17(11), e0277106.
Tabak, R. G., Hipp, J. A., Marx, C. M., Brownson, R. C. (2015). Workplace social and organizational envi-ronments and healthy-weight behaviors. PloS One, 10(4), e0125424.
Timlin, D., Giannantoni, B., McCormack, J. M., Polito, A., Ciarapica, D., Azzini, E., Simpson, E. E. (2021). Comparison of barriers and facilitators of MIND diet uptake among adults from Northern Ireland and Italy. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 265.
Weinstein, N. D. (1993). Testing four competing theories of health-protective behavior. Health Psychology, 12(4), 324–333.
World Health Organization (2010). Healthy workplaces: a model for action. Geneva.
World Health Organization (2022). WHO guidelines on mental health at work. Geneva. URL: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240053052 (дата обращения: 06.09.2025)
