Implementation of web-based interventions by Dutch occupational health centers

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Public Health Interventions
• Digital Health

Background:

• Web-based computer-tailored interventions offer scalable solutions for obesity prevention.
• Occupational health centers are key settings for implementing workplace health programs.
• Understanding adoption barriers is crucial for successful intervention implementation.

Purpose of the Study:

• Identify barriers and facilitators to adopting and implementing web-based obesity prevention interventions.
• Explore perceptions of adopters versus non-adopters in Dutch occupational health centers.
• Inform strategies for enhancing intervention uptake in organizational settings.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with directors of occupational health centers (adopters n=8, non-adopters n=12).
• Interviews focused on intervention, user, organization, and socio-political factors.
• Directed-content analysis of verbatim interview transcripts by two coders.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in perceptions between adopters and non-adopters regarding intervention attributes and implementer beliefs.
• Perceived relative advantages of the intervention were highly influential.
• Organizational factors like profit potential and integration ease facilitated implementation.

Conclusions:

• Tailoring implementation strategies to specific perceptions of occupational health centers is essential.
• Addressing perceived intervention advantages/disadvantages and implementer beliefs is key.
• Highlighting organizational benefits, such as increased profits, can drive adoption.