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

Rebecca J. Guerin, Samantha M. Harden, Borsika A. Rabin, Diane S. Rohlman, Thomas R. Cunningham, Megan R. TePoel, Megan Parish and Russell E. Glasgow
Additional contact information
Rebecca J. Guerin: Division of Science Integration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1090 Tusculum Ave., MS C-10, Cincinnati, OH 45226, USA
Samantha M. Harden: Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
Borsika A. Rabin: Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
Diane S. Rohlman: Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Iowa, 145 N. Riverside Drive, Iowa City, IA 52245, USA
Thomas R. Cunningham: Division of Science Integration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1090 Tusculum Ave., MS C-10, Cincinnati, OH 45226, USA
Megan R. TePoel: Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Iowa, 145 N. Riverside Drive, Iowa City, IA 52245, USA
Megan Parish: Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
Russell E. Glasgow: Department of Family Medicine and Dissemination and Implementation Science Program of Adult and Child Center for Outcomes Research and Delivery Science, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 21, 1-19

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: dissemination and implementation science; Total Worker Health; translational science; occupational safety and health; evidence-based interventions; health equity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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