HWPP: A Total Worker Health® Program Toolkit

DesignTeam

“This program breathed new life into the Safety Committee and the Ergonomics Team.”
-HWPP Program Facilitator at Frisbie Memorial Hospital

For more information about how the HWPP was used at Frisbie and in other organizations, see the Featured Case Studies.

The Healthy Workplace Participatory Program engages employees at all levels of the organization in setting priorities and developing solutions to advance Total Worker Health®.

Total Worker Health® (TWH) is a new and developing program concept that takes occupational safety and health to the next level to also address other health concerns such as stress and chronic diseases, previously considered separate from the workplace. This is why TWH programs focus on making working conditions conducive to health, which can lead to health benefits on and off the job.

The HWPP aligns with the Defining Elements of a TWH Program. The HWPP core program elements are especially supportive of three key TWH Defining Elements:

  • Demonstrating leadership commitment to worker safety and health
  • Designing a safer, health promoting workplace
  • Promoting worker engagement throughout program design and implementation

Core Program Features

A two-committee program structure engages managers and front line employees for continuous improvement of health and safety. A trained Facilitator guides the program activities. The Intervention, Design, and Analysis Scorecard (IDEAS) Tool provides a structured process for intervention planning. It uncovers root causes to poor health and injuries, and develops a business case for complete, TWH solutions. Most importantly, it engages and empowers employees, building confidence in the organization to change unhealthy working conditions.

Download the Get Ready for Program Start-up (pdf) for a detailed program overview.

How Your Organization Will Benefit

Emerging evidence on the TWH programs has shown savings on healthcare and administrative costs in industry, as well as superior program impacts on health outcomes through coordinated safety and health promotion activities. Learn more about the TWH Approach.

The HWPP toolkit materials will help your organization create a culture of health, safety and wellness at all levels. Research shows that this program:

  • Engages employees in setting priorities and developing solutions
  • Improves organizational culture, communication and collaboration about health, safety, and well-being
  • Integrates occupational safety with health promotion initiatives
  • Develops a business case for health and safety interventions, one intervention at a time.

The centerpiece of the program is the Intervention, Design, and Analysis Scorecard (IDEAS) Tool. The IDEAS tool provides a structured process for intervention planning. It uncovers root causes to poor health and injuries, and leads to more complete solutions. Most importantly, it engages and empowers employees, building confidence in the organization to change unhealthy behaviors and conditions. Read more about the IDEAS tool.

Frisbie Memorial Hospital successfully used the HWPP to address a rise in patient handling injuries among employees in the medical and surgical unit. The HWPP resulted in improvements beyond the originally intended target and reduced patient handling injuries hospital-wide.

For a full description of the HWPP at Frisbie, read the Frisbie Case Study (pdf).