Harvard T.H. Chan Center for Work, Health, and Wellbeing

Details

• Personal Author:
  Boden L ; Dennerlein J ; Hashimoto D ; Katz J ; Manjourides J ; McLellan D ; Nagler E ; Okechukwu C ; Pronk N ; Sabbath EL ; Sorensen, Glorian ; Stoddard A
• Description:
  The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Center for Work, Health, & Well-being, was first funded in 2006 as a NIOSH Total Worker Health(R) (TWH) Center for Excellence. The vision of the Center is to achieve optimal worker safety and health and employer outcomes through improved conditions of work. The Center's successful past performance is demonstrated through cross-project results and publications; a conceptual framework to advance TWH research and practice; common metrics; transdisciplinary workforce development; and solid partnerships with employers and other organizations who are contributing to ongoing dissemination and translation of the Center's research into practice. During the last project period (2011-2017, including a no-cost extension), the Center's specific aims focused on knowledge production (research); knowledge reproduction (training and education); and knowledge transfer and exchange (translating research into practice and policy). We operationalized these aims through two research projects and a knowledge transfer project, along with training, outreach, and educational activities. The work of the Center during this project period focused on two high-priority, high-risk industries, health care and construction, as well as on small- and medium-sized businesses, which employ over half of U.S. workers. Significant Findings: Across the Center's research, we found that worker safety and health outcomes share common pathways in the conditions of work, underscoring the need for system- level changes. The Center's three projects contributed to improving understanding of the roles of the conditions of work in worker safety and health, and examined the feasibility and efficacy of integrated policies, programs, and practices to reduce these risks. In our study in healthcare, findings across two intervention studies pointed to the need for embedding unit-level efforts into system-wide initiatives that respond to conditions of work. The relationships of working conditions to worker safety and health outcomes were further documented through an integrated database, including administrative data, injury incidents and worker compensation claims, and healthcare utilization, along with survey data. In our research in the construction industry, we demonstrated in a cluster randomized trial that a general contractor-based integrated program had positive and statistically significant effects on worker's diet and physical activity. We learned that the program activities were adaptable to different worksites and that effective program implementation required empowering subcontractor companies in the program through trade-specific targeted ergonomics interventions. In our knowledge translation study, conducted in partnership with healthcare vendor, we identified key barriers to implementing TWH approaches in small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and facilitators and barriers to the dissemination and implementation process in three manufacturing SMBs. In addition, the Center funded 12 pilot projects that identified and supported innovative research, education, and translation activities conducted junior and senior scientists paired together on each study. Translation of Findings: To increase the number of work environments that adopt and implement integrated policies, programs, and practices, the Center updated its SafeWell Practice Guidelines: An Integrated Approach to Worker Health, tested these guidelines in our knowledge transfer project, and applied its principles in our research projects. The Center expanded its network of collaborative partnerships and stakeholder engagement for Practice-to-Research and Research- to-Practice activities. Key partnerships included with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Veterans' Health Administration (VHA) and the Boston Firefighters. The Center also sponsored two courses annually through the Harvard Chan School's Executive and Continuing Professional Education program. We worked closely with a Worksite Advisory Board, including vanguard employers, unions, and vendors, who helped ensure our use of state-of-the-art methods and the most effective channels for knowledge transfer. Research Outcomes / Impact: The Center established a set of unifying principles that we have articulated in our Center-wide research-our common conceptual model, shared definition and a common set of indicators of integrated approaches, multi-level partnerships, and successes in translating our research to practice. We developed a shared definition of integrated approaches to worker safety and health, with validated metrics that have informed the field. Our impact and productivity were further demonstrated by 54 publications. Our Center-wide commitment to mentoring junior investigators further defines the Center's ongoing impact. Through its focus on the critical importance of working conditions for a range of worker safety and health outcomes, the Center provided consistent messages through its outreach and scientific communications. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Education Health Personnel Health Promotion Occupational Health Safety Small Business Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Construction Industry Construction Workers Health Care Workers Health Promotion Intervention Effectiveness Partnership Small Businesses Total Worker Health Training TWH Worker Safety

  More +
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Final Cooperative Agreement Report
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-128
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20061430
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2022-100338
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U19-OH-008861, 2017 Oct; :1-128
• Contact Point Address:
  Glorian Sorensen, PhD, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute,450 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215
• Email:
  Glorian_sorensen@dfci.harvard.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• NORA Priority Area:
  Healthcare and Social Assistance ; Construction
• Performing Organization:
  Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20070901
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20260831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4215aea093c49892337b22dbd1c8a470b2372e5b417be91a53a89d99adef2b183622865e0af772c825eb41aa09ea8c4c1faf73ae1d503679948a65c3b4306354
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/219028/cdc_219028_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.72 MB ]