Overview of HWHP Research Partneship Program In this program, we work with agencies using participatory action research methodologies to identify workplace health needs, and then, in partnership with the leadership and other employees of the agency, investigate, mobilize knowledge, and measure effectiveness of culture change in psychosocial wellness.
The research design, implementation, and evaluation is done with the active co-leadership and participation of the agency leaders and employees and is intended to meet the knowledge and expertise needs of the specific agency.
Description of research activities Research and planning work is determined by the research team (HWHP, research assistants, agency leadership, agency staff). The research activities below represent ways research partners join with HWHP project researchers (the Research Team and the Project team) to carry out a program development project within their organization. All the activities below will be carried out with the guidance of the members of the Research Partner team for each agency.
Identify up to 4 agencies to become research partners
Partner with leaders, supervisors, and staff members to plan a study that accommodates the research interests of the participants and the wellness needs of the agency
Survey all the employees using the broad survey tailored to the agency
Follow up on question areas with focus groups
Design materials in based on initial assessment
Study the same respondents again
Process and Activities The process parallels the overall process for the province-wide study of psychosocial health in the human-services sector, but it is focused on agency needs and done with complete cooperation with a specific agency. The time frame for these research/development activities is roughly one year (the second year of the grant).
Phase 1: measure levels of psychosocial health and wellness Phase 2: intervene with workshops and training Phase 3: follow up and evaluate the effectiveness of the health and wellness program
Rationale
The learning about the specific context of work can create a detailed picture of how and why psychosocial behaviours relate to specific health outcomes. This model can be identified and made available to other agencies in the province.
The focused agency studies will provide information to supplement the surveys that the project does. It will provide another window or viewpoint on how sustainable change in health policy is implemented.
The program will provide research opportunities for graduate students and faculty interested in development of wellness programs in the non-profit human-services sector.
Benefits to Participants The Research Partnership Program will benefit partners in the following ways:
It will provide the expertise-based knowledge to create employee assistance programs, employee policy, best practices, and communication protocols that actually work and have the potential to improve the workplace health for all agency employees
It will help them identify areas where investigation (surveys, interviews, and focus groups) can provide useful, practical information for implementation in their organization
It will strengthen the research capabilities of partner agencies by identifying the human capital (research abilities) among employees, and by identifying a model (research methodology) for the agency to replicate
It will add another feature to the agency’s employee-engagement toolkit
Kinds of Projects We Can Help With The program can accommodate a variety of health and wellness projects in the human-services sector. Are you curious about how wellness and health culture can be implemented and grow in your agency? Asking questions is a first step. Then, leaders can work with researchers to find answers to the wellness questions posed by a specific agency, design a campaign to engage employees, and implement and evaluate.
Examples of wellness campaigns vary and each is specific to an organization. Some of the ideas below begin with a question and a single source of previous inquiry. But by delving further, designing research materials, and crafting an entire initiative, agency leaders can build programs that have a promise of success and impact with employees, client, and the entire agency.
General topics for participatory research include: What structures of HR policies would work best for my agency? How can I implement them?
How can wellness culture be implemented among counsellors?
What are the cutting-edge theories of wellness and psychosocial health? How can our agency take a leadership role in the sector?
Some suggestions below might get you thinking about a project you might like to design.
What are the factors that affect wellness among individual employees? http://www.wellnesscampaign.org/ This organization provides tools for individuals to begin a wellness campaign for weight control, healthy diets, and healthy exercise. Agencies following this model could provide workers with structured ways to improve individual health. Work by Berry can provide guideposts for identifying the best program for a specific agency that will pay off for enterprise development.
Berry, L., Mirabito, A. M., & Baun, W. B. (2010). What's the hard return on employee wellness programs?. Harvard Business Review, December, 2012-68. Link
What model of wellness practices works best for agencies in the helping professions? Create workplace wellness policies and supports. Agencies wanting to begin or strengthen a wellness approach can develop materials, policy guidelines, wellness committee initiatives and other practices to establish a wellness culture. Hiller’s work, below, is a starting place for ideas about the best, researched, models of wellness culture in a social work setting.
Hillier, D., Fewell, F., Cann, W., & Shephard, V. (2005). Wellness at work: Enhancing the quality of our working lives. International Review of Psychiatry,17(5), 419-431. Link
How do you describe wellness from a FNMI perspective? If your agency hires or serves the FNMI community you might want to explore how wellness policies can be adapted to help make the staff side of wellness match up with the service side of wellness. Studies done by Healy can point the way to expertise-based program development.
Healey, G. K. (2008). Tradition and culture: An important determinant of Inuit women’s health. International Journal of Indigenous Health, 4(1), 25-33. Link to abstract
How can wellness culture be implemented across cultural boundaries? If you have a diversity of cultures represented in your employees, you might want to find out what models would be appropriate for your work. Studies like the one done by Zapf can be a starting place for identifying research question focused on your agency.
Zapf, M. K. (1991). Cross-cultural transitions and wellness: Dealing with culture shock. International journal for the advancement of counselling, 14(2), 105-119. Link