Effectiveness of total worker health interventions

W Kent Anger; Diane L Elliot; Todd Bodner; Ryan Olson; Diane S Rohlman; Donald M Truxillo; Kerry S Kuehl; Leslie B Hammer; Dede Montgomery

doi:10.1037/a0038340

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Effectiveness of total worker health interventions

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Effectiveness of total worker health interventions

W Kent Anger, Diane L Elliot, Todd Bodner, Ryan Olson, Diane S Rohlman, Donald M Truxillo, Kerry S Kuehl, Leslie B Hammer and Dede Montgomery

Journal of occupational health psychology, Vol.20(2), pp.226-247

04/2015

DOI: 10.1037/a0038340

PMID: 25528687

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Abstract

Total Worker Health (TWH) was introduced and the term was trademarked in 2011 by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to formally signal the expansion of traditional occupational safety and health (OSH) to include wellness and well-being. We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, and other databases using keywords TWH, health promotion, health protection, and variants for articles meeting the criteria of (a) employing both occupational safety and/or health (OSH, or health protection) and wellness and/or well-being (health promotion, or HP) in the same intervention study, and (b) reporting both OSH and HP outcomes. Only 17 published studies met these criteria. All but 1 of the 17 TWH interventions improved risk factors for injuries and/or chronic illnesses, and 4 improved 10 or more risk factors. Several TWH interventions reported sustained improvements for over a year, although only 1 is readily available for dissemination. These results suggest that TWH interventions that address both injuries and chronic diseases can improve workforce health effectively and more rapidly than the alternative of separately employing more narrowly focused programs to change the same outcomes in serial fashion. These 17 articles provide useful examples of how TWH interventions can be structured. The promise of simultaneous improvements in safety, health, and well-being leads to the call to pursue TWH research to identify and disseminate best practices.

Program Evaluation

Health Promotion - methods

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Humans

Models, Organizational

Occupational Health - economics

Details

Title: Subtitle: Effectiveness of total worker health interventions
Creators: W Kent Anger - Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences, Oregon Health & Science University
Diane L Elliot - Division of Sports Medicine and Health Promotion, Oregon Health & Science University
Todd Bodner - Department of Psychology, Portland State University
Ryan Olson - Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences, Oregon Health & Science University
Diane S Rohlman - Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences, Oregon Health & Science University
Donald M Truxillo - Department of Psychology, Portland State University
Kerry S Kuehl - Division of Sports Medicine and Health Promotion, Oregon Health & Science University
Leslie B Hammer - Department of Psychology, Portland State University
Dede Montgomery - Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences, Oregon Health & Science University
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of occupational health psychology, Vol.20(2), pp.226-247
DOI: 10.1037/a0038340
PMID: 25528687
NLM abbreviation: J Occup Health Psychol
ISSN: 1076-8998
eISSN: 1939-1307
Publisher: United States
Grant note: U19 OH010154 / NIOSH CDC HHS
Language: English
Date published: 04/2015
Academic Unit: Occupational and Environmental Health; International Programs; Injury Prevention Research Center
Record Identifier: 9983997343202771

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162 Times Cited - Web of Science

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