No abstract

* Beginning April 12, the facility did not slaughter any more animals. During April 12-14, the facility processed animals that had already been slaughtered, shipped finished product, and progressively closed departments. From April 15 onward, only staff members necessary for maintenance, cleaning, and sanitization of the facility, transportation of remaining product, and implementation of COVID-19 prevention activities reported to work.

This study evaluated the efficacy of an integrated Total Worker Health® program, “All the Right Moves”, designed to target the conditions of work and workers’ health behaviors through an ergonomics program combined with a worksite-based health promotion Health Week intervention. A matched-pair cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted on ten worksites (five intervention (n = 324); five control sites (n = 283)). Worker surveys were collected at all sites pre- and post- exposure at one- and six-months. Linear and logistic regression models evaluated the effect of the intervention on pain and injury, dietary and physical activity behaviors, smoking, ergonomic practices, and work limitations. Worker focus groups and manager interviews supplemented the evaluation. After controlling for matched intervention and control pairs as well as covariates, at one-month following the ergonomics program we observed a significant improvement in ergonomic practices (B = 0.20, p = 0.002), and a reduction in incidences of pain and injury (OR = 0.58, p = 0.012) in the intervention group. At six months, we observed differences in favor of the intervention group for a reduction in physically demanding work (B = −0.25, p = 0.008), increased recreational physical activity (B = 35.2, p = 0.026) and higher consumption of fruits and vegetables (B = 0.87, p = 0.008). Process evaluation revealed barriers to intervention implementation fidelity and uptake, including a fissured multiemployer worksite, the itinerant nature of workers, competing production pressures, management support, and inclement weather. The All the Right Moves program had a positive impact at the individual level on the worksites with the program. For the longer term, the multi-organizational structure in the construction work environment needs to be considered to facilitate more upstream, long-term changes.

Objective To report findings from a proof-of-concept trial designed to examine the feasibility and estimate the efficacy of the “Be Well, Work Well” workplace intervention. Methods The intervention included consultation for nurse managers to implement changes on patient care units and educational programming for patient care staff to facilitate improvements in safety and health behaviors. We used a mixed-methods approach to evaluate feasibility and efficacy. Results Using findings from process tracking and qualitative research, we observed challenges to implementing the intervention due to the physical demands, time constraints and psychological strains of patient care. Using survey data, we found no significant intervention effects. Conclusions Beyond educating individual workers, system-wide initiatives that respond to conditions of work may be needed to transform the workplace culture and broader milieu in support of worker health and safety.