Participatory Approach to Create a Supportive Work Environment for Employees With Chronic Conditions: A Pilot...

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Organizational Psychology
• Public Health Interventions

Background:

• Creating supportive work environments is crucial for employees managing chronic conditions.
• Occupational physicians (OPs) play a key role in facilitating workplace support.
• Organizational-level interventions require effective implementation strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a pilot organizational-level intervention using a participatory approach (PA).
• To assess the feasibility and impact of PA on creating a supportive work environment for employees with chronic conditions.
• To understand the role of OPs in implementing the PA.

Main Methods:

• A pilot implementation of an organizational-level intervention was evaluated.
• Twenty-eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with OPs and organizational stakeholders.
• Data were collected through interviews, observational data, and research notes, followed by content analysis.

Main Results:

• Recruitment of organizations proved challenging, achieving only 25% reach.
• Variations in intervention delivery (dose delivered, dose received, fidelity) were observed across the three participating organizations.
• Participating organizations viewed the PA positively as a method to enhance support for employees with chronic conditions.

Conclusions:

• The participatory approach (PA) demonstrates potential value in fostering supportive work environments.
• Challenges in organizational recruitment and intervention fidelity need to be addressed.
• Further research is essential to identify effective strategies for activating organizations to improve support for employees with chronic conditions.