NORDCORP. What effects does implementation have on health-promotion program results? - A collaborative project in four Nordic countries

Work-related stress is one of the greatest occupational safety and health challenges facing the Nordic and European countries. It is well established in the research literature that various workplace health-promotion interventions such as job redesign, work-load reduction and skill development can have positive effects on employees work situation and health. However, the implementation of these programs at workplaces has shown to be a great challenge. Current research has a good knowledge of factors that hinder and facilitate the implementation of an intervention. However, it is unclear how different factors of implementation influence the interventions results, e.g. employees wellbeing. The purpose of the project is to integrate process and outcome data on workplace health-promotion interventions to study the significance of various implementation components for the intervention results. Data from seven intervention studies in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, with the aim to improve employees? work situation and health, is used. Similar, validated measures are used across the studies. The process measures include questionnaire items for employees experiences of implementation process, such as leaders commitment and actions, participation, facilitation, exposure and readiness for change. The program effects are evaluated through employee self-rating of stress, health, sick presenteeism and sick leave. The study will highlight the impact of various implementation factors on program effects. The results will contribute to concrete information about strategies that have the most successful effects when health-promotion programs are implemented in the Nordic workplaces. So far the project has contributed with a number of conference presentations, book chapters, manuscripts submitted for publication related to the objectives of the project.

Work-related stress is one of the greatest occupational safety and health challenges facing the Nordic and European countries. It is well established in the research literature that various workplace health-promotion interventions such as job redesign, wo rk-load reduction and skill development can have positive effects on employees work situation and health. However, the implementation of these programs at workplaces has shown to be a great challenge. Current research has a good knowledge of factors that hinder and facilitate the implementation of an intervention. However, it is unclear how different factors of implementation influence the interventions results, e.g. employees wellbeing. The purpose of the project is to integrate process and outcome dat a on workplace health-promotion interventions to study the significance of various implementation components for the intervention results. Data from seven intervention studies (n= 7600 employees) in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, with the aim to imp rove employees? work situation and health, is used. Same, validated measures are used across the studies. Thus, all seven projects have data on process and effects that can be compared between the studies and countries. The process measures include questi onnaire items for employees experiences of implementation process, such as leaders commitment and actions, participation, facilitation, exposure and readiness for change. The program effects are evaluated through employee self-rating of stress, health, si ck presenteeism and sick leave. The study provides a unique opportunity to establish a Nordic dataset combining extensive process and outcome measures of worksite health promotion programs. The study will highlight the impact of various implementation f actors on program effects. The results will contribute to concrete information about strategies that have the most successful effects when health-promotion programs are implemented in the Nordic workplaces.