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. 2021 Oct 21;18(21):11050.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph182111050.

Dissemination and Implementation Science Approaches for Occupational Safety and Health Research: Implications for Advancing Total Worker Health

Rebecca J Guerin  1 , Samantha M Harden  2 , Borsika A Rabin  3   4   5 , Diane S Rohlman  6   7 , Thomas R Cunningham  1 , Megan R TePoel  6 , Megan Parish  7 , Russell E Glasgow  5
Affiliations

Dissemination and Implementation Science Approaches for Occupational Safety and Health Research: Implications for Advancing Total Worker Health

Rebecca J Guerin et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Total Worker Health® (TWH), an initiative of the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, is defined as policies, programs, and practices that integrate protection from work-related health and safety hazards by promoting efforts that advance worker well-being. Interventions that apply the TWH paradigm improve workplace health more rapidly than wellness programs alone. Evidence of the barriers and facilitators to the adoption, implementation, and long-term maintenance of TWH programs is limited. Dissemination and implementation (D&I) science, the study of methods and strategies for bridging the gap between public health research and practice, can help address these system-, setting-, and worker-level factors to increase the uptake, impact, and sustainment of TWH activities. The purpose of this paper is to draw upon a synthesis of existing D&I science literature to provide TWH researchers and practitioners with: (1) an overview of D&I science; (2) a plain language explanation of key concepts in D&I science; (3) a case study example of moving a TWH intervention down the research-to-practice pipeline; and (4) a discussion of future opportunities for conducting D&I science in complex and dynamic workplace settings to increase worker safety, health, and well-being.

Keywords: Total Worker Health; dissemination and implementation science; evidence-based interventions; health equity; occupational safety and health; translational science.

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Conflict of interest statement

D.S.R. has a significant financial interest in Northwest Education Training and Assessment, LLC, a company that may have a commercial interest in the results of this research and technology. This potential conflict of interest was reviewed, and a management plan approved by the OHSU and the University of Iowa Conflict of Interest in Research Committees was implemented.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Logic model of a D&I study for TWH. Source: adapted from [91].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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