Assessing integrative prevention at work: A scoping review

BackgroundIntegrative prevention at work is a promising avenue to better prevent occupational injuries and manage prolonged incapacity in a changing world of work. Integrative prevention at work can be operationalized using its five defining attributes: (1) holistic vision of health, (2) common understanding of the purpose of integrative prevention, (3) communication among stakeholders, (4) collaboration among stakeholders, and (5) coordination of preventive action. An assessment tool for these characteristics would be a valuable resource for organizations seeking to improve their approach to prevention. Namely, it would allow organizations to assess the presence of integrative prevention at work in their environment and enhance their ability to implement it.ObjectiveThis study aimed to describe the evaluation tools assessing attributes of integrative prevention at work.MethodsThis scoping review followed a five-step process: 1) identifying the research question, 2) identifying relevant documents, 3) selecting documents, 4) extracting the data, and 5) examining, synthesizing, and reporting the results.ResultsTwelve evaluation tools were identified assessing one or more attributes of integrative prevention at work. Descriptive elements are provided for each tool (e.g., its purpose, the attribute(s) it assesses, and its metrological properties). Our study suggests that communication among stakeholders and collaboration among stakeholders are the attributes that are the most assessed by the evaluation tools.ConclusionsThis study provides the first comprehensive and detailed overview of the extant tools currently being used to assess the attributes of integrative prevention at work. None can assess all five attributes on a unified scale.