Ryan Olson

Effectiveness of Total Worker Health Interventions

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.

A new health promotion model for lone workers: results of the Safety & Health Involvement for Truckers (SHIFT) pilot study.

Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a new health promotion model for lone workers. Methods: A single group pre- or posttest design was used to evaluate intervention effectiveness for reducing body weight and increasing healthful and safe behaviors. Truck drivers (n = 29) from four companies participated in a 6-month intervention involving a weight loss and safe driving competition, computer-based training, and motivational interviewing. Results: Objectively measured body weight reduced by 7.8 lbs (&Dgr;SD = 11.5, &Dgr;d = 0.68, P = 0.005), and survey measures showed significant reductions in dietary fat and sugar consumption. An objective measure of safe driving also showed significant improvement, and increases in exercise motivational stage and walking fitness approached significance. Conclusions: Results suggest that the new intervention model is substantially more engaging and effective with truck drivers than previous education-based tactics.

Behavioral Self-Monitoring of Safety and Productivity in the Workplace: A Methodological Primer and Quantitative Literature Review.

ABSTRACT Workplace applications of behavioral self-monitoring (BSM) methods have been studied periodically for over 35 years, yet the literature has never been systematically reviewed. Recent occupational safety interventions including BSM resulted in relatively large behavior changes. Moreover, BSM methods are functional for addressing a broad range of occupational health psychology topics. Studies (n = 24) where workers self-monitored productivity or safety behaviors were reviewed and scored along dimensions relevant to research and practice. For intervention conditions (n = 38), standardized effect sizes ranged from 0.2 to 14.5 (weighted average d = 2.8). The results encourage the use of BSM in workplace interventions, but the literature has insufficiently addressed the isolated and additive effects of BSM, worker involvement and individual differences, assessment applications, and theory testing and development.

A workplace intervention improves sleep: results from the randomized controlled Work, Family, and Health Study

STUDY OBJECTIVES The Work, Family, and Health Network Study tested the hypothesis that a workplace intervention designed to increase family-supportive supervision and employee control over work time improves actigraphic measures of sleep quantity and quality. DESIGN Cluster-randomized trial. SETTING A global information technology firm. PARTICIPANTS US employees at an information technology firm. INTERVENTIONS Randomly selected clusters of managers and employees participated in a 3-month, social, and organizational change process intended to reduce work-family conflict. The intervention included interactive sessions with facilitated discussions, role playing, and games. Managers completed training in family-supportive supervision. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS Primary outcomes of total sleep time (sleep duration) and wake after sleep onset (sleep quality) were collected from week-long actigraphy recordings at baseline and 12 months. Secondary outcomes included self-reported sleep insufficiency and insomnia symptoms. Twelve-month interviews were completed by 701 (93% retention), of whom 595 (85%) completed actigraphy. Restricting analyses to participants with e3 valid days of actigraphy yielded a sample of 473-474 for intervention effectiveness analyses. Actigraphy-measured sleep duration was 8 min/d greater among intervention employees relative to controls (P < .05). Sleep insufficiency was reduced among intervention employees (P = .002). Wake after sleep onset and insomnia symptoms were not different between groups. Path models indicated that increased control over work hours and subsequent reductions in work-family conflict mediated the improvement in sleep sufficiency. CONCLUSIONS The workplace intervention did not overtly address sleep, yet intervention employees slept 8 min/d more and reported greater sleep sufficiency. Interventions should address environmental and psychosocial causes of sleep deficiency, including workplace factors.

Observational learning and workplace safety: the effects of viewing the collective behavior of multiple social models on the use of personal protective equipment.

INTRODUCTION The current project evaluated the effects of the collective behavior of multiple social models on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). METHOD Prior to completing a simulated baggage-screening task, participants (N=64) watched a scripted training video that included three confederate trainees. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four manipulations, where different proportions of confederates were shown putting on over-ear sound mufflers before starting the task (0, 1, 2, or 3). White noise played at 70 decibels in the test room, and PPE use was observed unobtrusively through a lab window at five time intervals. RESULTS The mean intervals of PPE use generally increased as the number of positive social models increased (0=0.63, 1=0.50, 2=1.25, 3=3.06), and differences between groups were significant [chi(2) (3, N=64)=14.92, p<.01, eta(2)=0.24]. The results suggest that the aggregate prevalence of safety behavior within work groups may be an important determinant of initial PPE use by new employees. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY Results suggest that new hires are likely to use PPE at a rate that is proportional to the collective PPE use observed among their peers. Safety leaders should regularly measure the collective level of PPE use at job sites and encourage majority usage through appropriate interventions such as increasing the availability or quality of PPE, training, or positive reinforcement for compliance.

Sleep, Dietary, and Exercise Behavioral Clusters Among Truck Drivers With Obesity: Implications for Interventions.

Objective: The objectives of the study were to describe a sample of truck drivers, identify clusters of drivers with similar patterns in behaviors affecting energy balance (sleep, diet, and exercise), and test for cluster differences in health, safety, and psychosocial factors. Methods: Participants’ (n = 452, body mass index M = 37.2, 86.4% male) self-reported behaviors were dichotomized prior to hierarchical cluster analysis, which identified groups with similar behavior covariation. Cluster differences were tested with generalized estimating equations. Results: Five behavioral clusters were identified that differed significantly in age, smoking status, diabetes prevalence, lost work days, stress, and social support, but not in body mass index. Cluster 2, characterized by the best sleep quality, had significantly lower lost workdays and stress than other clusters. Conclusions: Weight management interventions for drivers should explicitly address sleep, and may be maximally effective after establishing socially supportive work environments that reduce stress exposures.

A Preliminary Investigation of the Reinforcement Function of Signal Detections in Simulated Baggage Screening: Further Support for the Vigilance Reinforcement Hypothesis.

The vigilance reinforcement hypothesis (VRH) asserts that errors in signal detection tasks are partially explained by operant reinforcement and extinction processes. VRH predictions were tested with a computerized baggage screening task. Our experiment evaluated the effects of signal schedule (extinction vs. variable interval 6 min) and visual field complexity (dial vs. baggage x-ray) on search behavior rates. There was a main effect for signal schedule [F (1, 20) = 14.0, p = .001, prep = 0.99], but no effects for field complexity or interaction. The VRH suggests that performance errors in visual screening work may be reduced through operant conditioning of search behaviors by intensive management of artificially planted signals.

The Effects of Target Behavior Choice and Self-Management Skills Training on Compliance With Behavioral Self-Monitoring

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to evaluate two potential methods for increasing participant compliance with behavioral self-monitoring (BSM). Design. A randomized 2 × 2 factorial design was used to evaluate the effects of target behavior choice (choice vs. assigned) and self-management skills training (training vs. no-training) on BSM compliance. In the choice manipulation, participants either chose or were assigned one of seven types of healthful or safe behaviors to self-monitor. In the training manipulation, participants either completed computer-based self-management skills training or received no training. Participants were then asked to complete daily BSM for 2 weeks. Setting. The study was conducted at a university and teaching hospital. Subjects. Participants (N = 60) were predominantly university and hospital employees. Measures. The primary dependent measure was percent compliance with BSM. Analysis. A factorial analysis of variance of compliance scores was performed. Results. Mean compliance with prescribed BSM was 52.6% (SD = 31.8). The main effect for choice was significant, with choice participants showing 18% higher BSM compliance than those in no-choice conditions (d = .59; p < .05). The effects of self-management skills training and the interaction term were both nonsignificant. Conclusion. Although self-management skills training did not appear to affect BSM compliance, offering individuals a choice in target behavior substantially increased both BSM compliance and self-reported behavior change. (Am J Health Promot 2011;25[5]:319-324.)

Return on Investment of a Work–Family Intervention: Evidence From the Work, Family, and Health Network

Objective: To estimate the return on investment (ROI) of a workplace initiative to reduce work–family conflict in a group-randomized 18-month field experiment in an information technology firm in the United States. Methods: Intervention resources were micro-costed; benefits included medical costs, productivity (presenteeism), and turnover. Regression models were used to estimate the ROI, and cluster-robust bootstrap was used to calculate its confidence interval. Results: For each participant, model-adjusted costs of the intervention were

Weight-loss maintenance among SHIFT pilot study participants 30-months after intervention.

690 and company savings were