1675a Toolkits: the key to scalable interventions and effective dissemination

Introduction While workplace intervention research is prevalent and fairly well funded, there remains a gap in the uptake of such interventions within practice realms after the completion of the research project. A review of the intervention research in Total Worker Health (TWH) was used to estimate the degree to which interventions were disseminated or available for dissemination in the area of employee safety, health and well-being. Among other considerations, a key strategy for effective dissemination of interventions depends on tailoring the intervention protocol and methods to a form that is widely useable. Methods The Oregon Healthy Workforce Centre (OHWC), a US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Centre of Excellence in Total Worker Health (TWH), developed and evaluated TWH intervention programs that integrated safety, health, and well-being. The interventions produced positive and statistically significant changes in safety, health, and well-being. To facilitate the effective transfer of these interventions into practice, we set out to systematically translate each research-focused intervention for real-world practice. Result Each intervention was converted into a ready-to-use, self-guided ‘toolkit’ designed so that practitioners could independently and feasibly implement within their workplace, thus making them scalable. The final product included videos and documents explaining the goals and strategies of the toolkit, its various components, and necessary instructions for use. In addition to ease of use, the toolkit components range from low- to no-cost to enhance their reach and distribution. Marketing materials were developed to stimulate the dissemination of the toolkits. Discussion Toolkits from the OHWC have been made available on a university website with the marketing materials being distributed widely. Given that research interventions are often confined within academic constraints, the concept of the self-contained toolkit makes the intervention scalable, thus overcoming a key barrier of translation of sound TWH research efforts into practice.