Prevention / Intervention Methods and Processes

Center for Health, Work & Environment: A Center of Excellence for Total Worker Health

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The purpose of the Center for Health, Work & Environment (CHWE) Center of Excellence in Total Worker Health (TWH) is to advance the overall safety, health, and well-being of workers through transdisciplinary research, effective interventions, outreach and communications, education/training, and rigorous evaluation that inform improvements in all of the above. CHWE addresses the need for research on Total Worker Health intervention strategies, focusing on the large number of workers and workplaces at highest risk of occupational fatality, injury, and illness. Specifically, CHWE research will build on the team?s experience in creating innovative TWH interventions and practical outreach tools for small businesses, the education industry, and other high-risk sectors such as agriculture.

An Expanded Conceptual Model for Research on Work, Safety, Health, and Well-being

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Center for Work, Health, & Well-being is a NIOSH Total Worker Health? Center of Excellence. Its mission is to protect and promote the safety, health, and well-being of workers through integrated workplace policies, programs, and practices that foster safe and healthy conditions of work. Building on its systems-level conceptual model centered on the conditions of work, the Center has expanded this model to include employment & labor patterns and the social/political/economic environment. The Center?s three unifying themes, informed by our conceptual model, provide a framework for setting priorities to ensure that our research and dissemination efforts make a difference in improving the conditions of work.

Occupational Health Equity Program at NIOSH

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

Not all workers have the same risk of experiencing a work-related health problem, even when they have the same job. The way societies configure social and economic institutions influence workers? exposure to occupational hazards (differential exposure) as well as their ability to cope with adverse consequences of an occupational injury or illness (differential susceptibility). The Occupational Health Equity program is working to integrate a social determinants of health approach to occupational safety and health.

Work, Stress, and Construction Industry’s Health: Pandemic squeeze on already fragile workforce

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the nation?s drug overdose epidemic with both forces significantly impacting the safety, health, and well-being of the construction workforce. Our program is engaged in developing strategies to stem the tide of overdose deaths and help the rising numbers of construction workers suffering from opioid misuse disorder and poor mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings informed a suite of communication and training interventions, communicating the big picture and systemic issues to construction decision-makers who can change conditions for the workforce. We are also reaching out to the people most affected, those who are struggling with mental health and substance misuse disorder.

Oregon Healthy Workforce Center, a NIOSH Total Worker Health Center of Excellence

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The poster abstract is a description of the Oregon Healthy Workforce Center, a NIOSH Total Worker Health Center of Excellence.

NIOSH Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities Program

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The TWU program collaborates with partners to identify relevant research and to help disseminate research findings and translate them into practice. The program publishes research in scientific journals and translates findings into materials that can be used by a variety of partners and stakeholders to improve the safety, health, and well-being of TWU workers. Products include scientific journal articles, fact sheets, blogs, infographics, and social media messages.

Healthier Workforce Center of the Midwest

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The vision of the Healthier Workforce Center of the Midwest is to create a safe, healthy, and productive workforce through basic and applied research, participatory approaches, and theory driven education and translation activities. The HWC is a collaboration which includes the University of Iowa, Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Kansas Medical Center, WorkWell KS, and two NIOSH Total Worker Health? Affiliates (the Nebraska Safety Council and the St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition).

Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace (CPH-NEW)

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

The Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace (CPH-NEW) is a Total Worker Health Center for Excellence that was first developed in 2006. The Center comprises cross-disciplinary researchers from the University of Connecticut (Health Center and Storrs campuses) and the University the University of Massachusetts (Lowell campus). Primary projects of the research core include two large, multi-phase intervention studies (SHIFT II healthcare study and Total Teacher Health public school study) and a 2-year exploratory study to develop organizational and educational approaches that imbed TWH concepts into employer crisis planning and preparedness. The outreach core (TWH r2p Hub) translates research knowledge and lessons generated through implementation materials and programs designed to improve the adoption of TWH in real-world employment settings. Features of CPH-NEW include a common core interest in developing participatory and worker empowerment approaches; continuous improvement of HWPP tools and guidance to users; a focus on mental health and well-being in addition to physical health; and prioritizing research and outreach with essential public sector workers.

Screening of cognitive impairment in patients with job stress: associations with subsequent employment status

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

Cognitive impairment is common in long-term work-related stress and may contribute to limited work ability. This study assesses performance-based and self-report tools for screening of objective cognitive impairment and prediction of subsequent employment among patients with work-related stress. The performance-based Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry, Danish version (SCIP-D) was superior to the self-report Cognitive Failure Questionnaire (CFQ) for correct classification of objective cognitive impairment and prediction of employment status six months later. We propose that cognitive impairment is assessed with a brief objective cognitive screener in addition to subjective cognitive difficulties among patients with work-related stress.

Developing and Validating a Respectful Workplace Climate Scale with Construction Workers as Exemplar: A Total Worker Health Approach (Phase I)

November 13, 2021November 12, 2021

Our project aims to develop and validate a Respectful Workplace Climate Scale to support the goal of fostering, promoting, and measuring a respectful workplace culture and climate in the workplace. In order to develop a reliable and valid respectful climate scale, we will utilize a mixed methods approach with both qualitative and quantitative methods. The current study represents Phase I of the project, providing insight on this topic based on the literature review and analysis of 10 SME?s responses. The long-term goal of this project is to help companies build a respectful workplace by developing a psychometrically sound Respectful Workplace Climate Scale that they can use to gauge the status of respect in their workplaces and the progress of interventions implemented.