Systematic review of interventions for reducing occupational stress in health care workers

Ruotsalainen, Jani; Serra, Consol; Albert, Matthew L.; Verbeek, Jos

doi:10.5271/sjweh.1240

Cited by 150 publications

(139 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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Section: Synthesizing the Effects Of Organizational Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…interventions aimed at developing the knowledge, skills and abilities of employees and enable them to cope with the demands of the job (Richardson and Rothstein, 2008;Routsalainen et al, 2008;van der Klink et al, 2001). These reviews have demonstrated the effectiveness of individual-level interventions, especially cognitive-behavioural types, compared to organizational-level interventions in reducing work-related stress (Richardson and Rothstein, 2008;Routsalainen et al, 2008;van der Klink et al, 2001). Van der Klink and colleagues (2001) distinguished four categories of interventions (i.e., cognitive-behavioural, relaxation techniques, multimodal, organizational) and found no effect of organizational interventions targeting the way work was organized, designed and managed (K = 5; d = .08, 95% CI = -.03, .19), concluding that interventions that target individuals are most effective.…”

Section: Synthesizing the Effects Of Organizational Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What works for whom in which circumstances? On the need to move beyond the ‘what works?’ question in organizational intervention research

2016

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A debate has arisen out of the need to understand true intervention outcomes in the social sciences. Traditionally, the randomized, controlled trial (RCT) that answers the question of 'what works' has been considered the gold standard. Although RCTs have been favoured in organizational intervention research, there has been an increasing interest in understanding the influence of context and intervention processes on the outcomes of such interventions. In the present critical essay, we question the suitability of RCTs and meta-analyses to evaluate the effectiveness of organizational interventions and we suggest that realist evaluation that seeks to answer the questions of what works for whom in which circumstances may present a more suitable framework. We argue that examining the content and process mechanisms through which organizational interventions are effective, and the conditions under which these are triggered, will enable us to better understand how interventions achieve the desired outcomes of improved employee health and well-being. We suggest that organizational intervention content and process mechanisms may help bring about the desired outcomes of improved employee health and well-being and that contextual factors determine whether these mechanisms are triggered. KeywordsCMO-configurations, context-mechanism-outcome configurations, critical essay, metaanalysis, organizational interventions, randomized controlled trial, realist evaluation, realist synthesis What works for whom?What works for whom?The randomized, controlled trial has been perceived as the gold standard for evaluating interventions (Guyatt et al., 1995). The RCT approach employs a successionist approach to causation, i.e. that randomization holds the context constant, there are no differences at baseline between the intervention and the control group, and outcomes can be inferred from comparing those exposed to the intervention to those not exposed to the intervention. When intended outcomes can be observed statistically above and beyond outcomes in the control group, it is assumed that these outcomes can be attributed to the intervention. Implicit in this line of thinking is that intervention outcomes can be aggregated What works for whom?In the field of organizational interventions the RCT design has been met with criticism (Nielsen, 2013a). Organizational interventions can be defined as planned, behavioural, theory-based actions that aim to improve employee health and well-being through changing the way work is designed, organized and managed (e.g. Nielsen, 2013a;Richardson and Rothstein, 2008). In the present essay, we argue that realist evaluation (Pawson, 2013;Pawson and Tilley, 1997) may offer an opportunity to develop an integrated context, process and outcome evaluation framework that may advance our theoretical understanding of which elements of organizational interventions may be effective and in which conditions we can expect positive outcomes. Realist evaluation offers a way to conduct rigorous, theory-based analyse...

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Section: Synthesizing the Effects Of Organizational Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Synthesizing the Effects Of Organizational Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What works for whom in which circumstances? On the need to move beyond the ‘what works?’ question in organizational intervention research

2016

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“…Stress has been defined as a subjective psycho-physiological state characterized by a combination of high arousal and displeasure (6). It is considered to result from an imbalance between the demands of the workplace and an individual's ability to cope with them.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress in professional care-givers working with patients with dementia: a hypothesis-generating study

et al. 2011

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“…Therefore, interventional processes as well as outcomes should be assessed to clarify the effectiveness of workplace interventions 8−13) . Recent medical developments have brought an increase in work demands, speed, complexity, and responsibility, causing a high prevalence of psychological distress, burnout, sick leave, and absenteeism among health care workers 14,15) . Thus, the improvement of psychosocial work environment for healthcare workers is needed.…”

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confidence: 99%

Effect on Mental Health of a Participatory Intervention to Improve Psychosocial Work Environment: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial among Nurses

Uchiyama

Odagiri

Ohya

et al. 2013

Journal of Occupational Health

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Effect on Mental Health of a Participatory Intervention to Improve Psychosocial Work Environment: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial among Nurses: Ayako UCHIYAMA, et al. Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Tokyo Medical University, Japan— Objectives Improvement of psychosocial work environment has proved to be valuable for workers' mental health. However, limited evidence is available for the effectiveness of participatory interventions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect on mental health among nurses of a participatory intervention to improve the psychosocial work environment. Methods A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted in hospital settings. A total of 434 nurses in 24 units were randomly allocated to 11 intervention units (n=183) and 13 control units (n=218). A participatory program was provided to the intervention units for 6 months. Depressive symptoms as mental health status and psychosocial work environment, assessed by the Job Content Questionnaire, the Effort‐Reward Imbalance Questionnaire, and the Quality Work Competence questionnaire, were measured before and immediately after the 6‐month intervention by a self administered questionnaire. Results No significant intervention effect was observed for mental health status. However, significant intervention effects were observed in psychosocial work environment aspects, such as Coworker Support (p<0.01) and Goals (p<0.01), and borderline significance was observed for Job Control (p<0.10). Conclusions It is suggested that a 6‐month participatory intervention is effective in improving psychosocial work environment, but not mental health, among Japanese nurses.

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Systematic review of interventions for reducing occupational stress in health care workers

Cited by 150 publications

References 49 publications

What works for whom in which circumstances? On the need to move beyond the ‘what works?’ question in organizational intervention research

What works for whom in which circumstances? On the need to move beyond the ‘what works?’ question in organizational intervention research

Stress in professional care-givers working with patients with dementia: a hypothesis-generating study

Effect on Mental Health of a Participatory Intervention to Improve Psychosocial Work Environment: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial among Nurses

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