Opioids and the Workplace Prevention and Response Awareness Training: Mixed Methods Follow-Up Evaluation

Abstract

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Worker Training Program piloted an Opioids and the Workplace: Prevention and Response training tool and program in 2019. The pilot trainees ( N = 97) were surveyed ( n = 27) and interviewed ( n = 6) six months posttraining, and those who downloaded the training tool from the Worker Training Program website ( n = 87) were surveyed ( n = 19) and interviewed ( n = 1) two to six months postdownload, to evaluate the impact of the training program. Workplace policy and program-level actions were reported less frequently than individual-level actions by trainees, except for planning and conducting training and education. Barriers to taking actions included not being able to make changes on their own without supervisor support and lack of upper management support and approval. We found some evidence that the Opioids in the Workplace training program and materials contributed to helping workers introduce policies and programs related to opioids within their workplace or union.

Results of an Opioid Hazard Awareness Training Intervention for Stone, Sand, and Gravel Miners

“…However, the training under study here closely models the aims of worker opioid awareness training developed for other high-risk sectors [28,32]. Our results align with those of a recent evaluation of a longer-format opioid hazards prevention training developed for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Worker Training Program and with the results reported from a training program for workers in construction, nursing, and material moving occupations [29,33].…”

Workplace Context to Prevent Substance Misuse in the United States: Associations Between workplace Policies and Employee Substance Use Disorders

“…These results suggest the need for additional prevention efforts that target opioid use for employees in male-dominated industries. In regard to this need, workplace training programs on opioid use awareness have been shown to effectively increase training knowledge of opioid risk factors and prevention resources (Persaud et al, 2021(Persaud et al, , 2022. However, future work is still needed to examine the effects of trained instructors' education on substance use prevention among employees.…”

Supervisor Training

“…Mixed-methods studies have become increasingly common across many disciplines, including occupational safety and health, in part because they help program evaluators simultaneously consider outcome measurement and intervention improvement perspectives. [46][47][48] The study analytics included descriptive and inferential statistical procedures. The univariate analyses included simple frequency distribution, percentage, and mean value calculations.…”