Project A: Integrated Approaches to Improving the Health and Safety of Health Care Workers

Currently, the health care sector employs 12 million workers and is the second fastest growing industry in the US economy.  Unlike in other industries, rates of occupational injuries and illnesses among health care workers have increased over the past decade.  The long-term goal of this study is to improve the overall health and well-being of healthcare workers by making available evidence-based worksite policies, programs, and practices that foster a healthy work environment, reduce potential hazardous job exposures, and promote safe and healthy behaviors.  The specific aims of this study are to: 1.)  To estimate the efficacy and determine the feasibility of an integrated intervention, addressing both health protection and health promotion in order to reduce MSD symptoms and improve health behaviors among healthcare workers; and 2.) To determine the factors in the work environment which contribute over time to reductions in MSD symptoms and improvements in safe and healthy behaviors.  This work is focused on all patient care employees working across all patient care units within two large hospitals that are part of Partners HealthCare, Inc.

Project B: Integrated Approaches to Health and Safety in dynamic Construction Work Environment

Construction workers have a high prevalence of both musculoskeletal disorders and high-risk health behaviors (e.g. tobacco use); however, comprehensive worksite musculoskeletal injury prevention does not exist for these workers due to the highly dynamic and variable nature of the construction industry. Many safety education and health promotion intervention studies that do exist are based within union and trade apprentice programs; however, it is the worksite environment that provides policy, resources, and the social factors that are fundamental to success of work-related health and safety interventions. The long-term goal of this project is to determine what worksite programs, based within the worksite’s lead contractor (i.e. general contractor or construction management company), improve the health and safety of construction workers given the complex organizational structure and dynamic nature of construction. The specific aims for this study are to 1.) Develop a worksite-based, multi-component, and integrated musculoskeletal disorder prevention and health promotion intervention for workers in commercial construction; 2.) Complete a feasibility study of a developed worksite based intervention on six constructions sites located in the Greater Boston area.

Project C: Education and Dissemination to Promote Worker Health

Translating evidence-based interventions into practice, following NIOSH’s Research to Practice Initiative, is critical to achieving NIOSH’s goals of improving and protecting worker health and quality of life. The vast majority of research-tested worker health programs address either health promotion or health protection—separately. Yet science demonstrates that an integrated approach to keeping workers healthy, by reducing risk of chronic diseases through health promotion activities while also protecting workers from hazardous work conditions, results in improved worker health outcomes, as well as reduced health care and business costs.   Our research group has developed provisional practice guidelines that describe an approach for reaching across the traditional departmental silos of WHP, OSH and human resources.  (Download Here) These guidelines provide a recommended sequence of processes, practices, and programs that employers can implement to optimize worker health. The long-term goal of this project is to test the dissemination of integrated WHP/OSH approach via our provisional practice guidelines by understanding the needs and resources of small to medium-sized businesses.  The specific aims are 1.)  Identify facilitators and barriers to adoption of integrated WHP/OSH approaches among small and medium sized businesses; 2.) Develop a business case and implementation package to promote adoption of the integrated WHP/OSH approach among small and medium sized businesses and 3.)  To assess the feasibility, acceptability, degree of implementation, and preliminary impact of integrated WHP/OSH approach delivered by a JourneyWell among three small/medium sized businesses.