Leveraging an Implementation Science Framework to Measure the Impact of Efforts to Scale Out a Total Worker Health® Intervention to Employers

Abstract

The role of dissemination and implementation (D&I) science is critical to the translation of Total Worker Health® into practice and to the success of interventions in addressing current and future implications for worker safety, health, and well-being. D&I frameworks can guide researchers to design Total Worker Health (“TWH”) delivery approaches that use flexible implementation strategies to implement the core components of programs for employers with varying contextual factors, including small/mid/large-sized businesses and different industry types. To date, there have been very few examples of applying implementation frameworks for the translation and delivery of interventions into organizational settings that require adoption and implementation at the business level to benefit the working individuals. We present a TWH case study, Health Links™, to illustrate an approach to applying an existing implementation framework, RE-AIM, to plan, design, build, and then evaluate TWH implementation strategies. Our case study also highlights key concepts for scaling-out TWH evidence-based interventions where they are implemented in new workplace settings, new delivery systems, or both. Our example provides strong support of key implementation planning constructs including early and consistent stakeholder engagement, tailored messaging and marketing, flexibility, and adaptations in implementation strategies to maximize adoption, implementation, and maintenance among participating businesses.

Promising Occupational Safety, Health, and Well-Being Approaches to Explore the Future of Work in the USA: An Editorial

“…Using a case study as an example, Tenney et al [31] discuss the role of dissemination and implementation (D&I) science as a critical piece in the translation of research into practice to flexibly implement core TWH intervention components. The authors highlight one D&I framework in particular: Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM), useful across TWH implementation phases and for employers with varying contextual factors, such as business size and industry type.…”

Feasibility of a Capacity Building Organizational Intervention for Worker Safety and Well-being in the Transportation Industry

“…This complexity results in the need for tailoring to fit the intervention with organizational needs and context 2,3 . The role of implementation science in the translation of interventions to different settings, industries, and across different company structures is critical to understand how effective approaches can be implemented and adapted as a result of the myriad of contextual factors that influence both the design and implementation of interventions 4 . There continues to be a need for ongoing research to better understand the implementation of organizational interventions that can be utilized in both research and nonresearch practice settings 5–8 …”

“…2,3 The role of implementation science in the translation of interventions to different settings, industries, and across different company structures is critical to understand how effective approaches can be implemented and adapted as a result of the myriad of contextual factors that influence both the design and implementation of interventions. 4 There continues to be a need for ongoing research to better understand the implementation of organizational interventions that can be utilized in both research and nonresearch practice settings. [5][6][7][8] The contextual factors influencing intervention design and implementation as well as the mechanisms important for facilitating change within an organization may differ across geographical boundaries due to socio-political, economic, and labor market systems.…”