Towards sustainable and flexible health promotion at work: Summary of evaluation findings from the Tyne & Wear 'health @ work' award

Abstract

Objective The objective of the paper is to summarise a process evaluation of an ongoing subregional health at work award scheme in relation to flexibility and sustainability. Design The design of the evaluation was a series of semi-structured interviews with designated members of participating organisations and health promotion specialists. Setting It was located in workplaces in Tyne and Wear, North East England. Method Researchers from the University of Sunderland transcribed and analysed the qualitative data. Results The results demonstrated the health at work award provided a flexible framework for participating organisations to develop direction and focus on health at work activities. Conclusion It was concluded that the health at work award was flexible and beneficial in the promotion of healthy workplaces and in working towards sustainable frameworks for health interventions.

Health at work in small and medium sized enterprises

“…FCAW was part of the Tyne and Wear “Health @ Work” Initiative, a cross‐district partnership to tackle the causes of ill health by implementing a health promoting strategy in the workplace setting. The Tyne & Wear “Health @ Work” Award was a major element of the initiative (Griffin et al , 2002). The health promotion departments of Newcastle and North Tyneside, Gateshead and South Tyneside and Sunderland worked intensively with SMEs to identify barriers in building health at work into corporate culture because it was felt that SMEs were not engaging in other aspects of the initiative.…”

“…Partnerships with other organisations such as the local chamber of commerce, environmental health departments and occupational health services occurred at all levels of the planning and implementation of the project. This allowed FCAW to link in with other local health initiatives such as: the “Health @ Work” Award (Griffin et al , 2002), Back Awareness in Tyne and Wear (2001), smoking cessation and mental health campaigns.…”

“…The Healthy Workplace Initiative, jointly sponsored by the Department of Health and the Health and Safety Executive, aims to establish health at work as an integral part of workplace culture, benefiting employers, employees and the local communities that provide the workforce (Department of Health, 2001). It has been recognised that the needs of SMEs are not always taken into account (Vassie and Cox, 1998; Tait and Walker, 2000b; Griffin et al , 2002) and one of the aims of FCAW was to redress this balance and assist SMEs in accessing help. Daykin and Doyal (1999) suggest health promotion in workplaces aims to broaden the remit of work‐related illness interventions; however, in addressing lifestyle and behaviour issues, there can be a reduction in attention paid to hazards in the workplace because of the individual focus rather than a focus on the setting.…”

An evaluation of an occupational health advice service

“…GPs frequently act as the first port of call for workers with OH concerns but in most cases do not have the knowledge and expertise to provide OH support and would prefer to refer such patients to specialist services 8 . In the absence of national-level provisions, OH support for employers and their employees has resulted in a patchwork of initiatives, providing health-and-safety support and assistance schemes 9,10 . In addition, a number of long-standing local OH projects exist across the UK and are often based within primary care settings and founded upon successful partnerships with primary care trusts 11 .…”