Printer FriendlyProject A
Promoting Physical and Mental Health of Caregivers through Transdisciplinary Intervention (ProCare) is based in a safe resident handling (SRH) or "no-lift" program implemented within a chain of 200+ nursing homes in the eastern US. The health outcomes and cost-effectiveness of the SRH program will be evaluated through questionnaire surveys and workers' compensation claims.
In addition, these outcomes will be compared among centers with only the SRH program, centers with both SRH and company-initiated health promotion activities, and a participatory health-promotion program integrated with the ergonomics (SRH) intervention. Specific outcomes include low back pain and other musculoskeletal disorders; overall physical and mental health; employee retention; and program net costs (Return on Investment).
Project B
Health Improvement Through Training and Employee Control (HITEC) compares a traditional workplace health promotion intervention program with an experimental program featuring program development through employee participation. It is based on the premise that the linking of health promotion and workplace health and safety programs will positively affect individual health and the work environment, and that effects can be objectively measured in terms of health status and program costs. Two state-of-the-art intervention programs featuring individual musculoskeletal health combined with professional ergonomic assessments will be developed for participating workplaces. One will be a more traditional professionally designed intervention. Outcomes will be compared to a more variable and experimental participatory program, characterized by a joint worker-management design and implementation approach. A key goal of the program is the assessment of shorter-term changes in the individual and in the environment, such as endurance and body composition, physical loading on the musculoskeletal system, and stress in and out of the workplace.
Project C
Stress@Work Education, Translation, Communication and Dissemination Project has a public sector focus. Building upon statewide Heart and Stroke Partnership plans developed by the Departments of Health in both Massachusetts and Connecticut, the Center will develop curriculum modules and assist in training sessions on the definition and efficacy of health promotion-occupational health and safety integration and the relationship between work-related stress and the development of heart disease and stroke. The initial audience for this training will be health-care professionals associated with the statewide partnerships and then will be extended to other specific targeted audiences, such as professional organizations of physicians and nurses.
Project D
R2P Project: Developing and Testing a Toolkit for Participatory Workplace Prevention/Health Promotion Interventions will translate our current participatory intervention research findings and methods in Projects A and C into practical instruments and protocols to be used by employers and workplace health practitioners. An initial toolkit will be tested in four pilot sites in Massachusetts and Connecticut. We will assess acceptability, usability, and short-term effectiveness of the toolkit in pilot sites and revise materials as needed to be suitable for practitioners. The revised toolkit will then be evaluated by an external advisory board to recommend any additional revisions in form or content that would enhance its suitability for future dissemination to the practitioner community.