Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal is a competitive revision to 1 U19 OH008857 (PI Punnett): Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace (CPH-NEW). The organizing principle of CPH-NEW is that of integrating occupational safety and health with workplace health promotion. CPH-NEW is currently in its third year and has developed a variety of specialized instruments and protocols for use at its intervention sites. Ongoing CPH-NEW research provides evidence for the effectiveness of combining participatory and self-correcting approaches to the integration of workplace health protection - especially occupational ergonomics - and health promotion activities. The current CPH-NEW projects have developed instruments and protocols that promote such a participatory process, with initial evidence of feasibility, acceptability, sustainability, and effectiveness. At the same time, the wide array of instruments used to measure organizational readiness and to evaluate intervention success, combined with the development of participatory structures and processes, is resource- and time intensive. While appropriate for a scientific study of program effectiveness, the research protocol would be inappropriate to recommend for widespread use by practitioners such as public health officials, insurance personnel, consultants, and in-house company champions. Many of these are now ready for research-to practice translation. In the proposed 2-year study period, CPH-NEW investigators will refine these methods for more widespread use through engaging 6 pilot sites, recruited from Massachusetts Department of Public Health "Worksite Wellness" program participants and one Connecticut correction facility (all recruited through current CPHNEW activities). The process involves four steps: 1) condensation of data collection instruments, including collaboration with a European partner who has undertaken parallel work; 2) field testing of instruments and a tool kit at the 6 pilot sites; 3) development and implementation of a set of accessible evaluation tools; and 4) production of a "beta version" of the toolkit for dissemination to practitioners. Throughout the development process key personnel from the public and private sectors, identified as likely end-users, will be engaged in active review.