Although the prevalence of """"""""family-friendly"""""""" policies in US workplaces has increased dramatically in recent years, few have been studied using scientifically sound designs. To address this critical gap, NIH and CDC formed the Work, Family, and Health Network (WFHN). During Phase 1, WFHN designed and conducted multiple pilot and feasibility studies. For Phase 2, the WFHN has been called upon to implement an innovative intervention and to evaluate the intervention. The proposed study aims to assess the effects of a workplace intervention designed to reduce work-family conflict, and thereby improve the health and well-being of employees, their families, and their workplaces. The WFHN will assess the intervention's efficacy via group-randomized field experiments at two employers in different industries. Within each industry, 30 worksites of 50-120 employees each will be randomly assigned to intervention or usual practice. At baseline and at 6-, 12-, and 18-months post baseline, employee and supervisor participants will have interviews and health assessments of cardiovascular risk and sleep dysregulation. Employees'spouse/partners and/or child aged 10-17 years will be assessed to learn how the intervention impacts family functioning. In addition, a subsample of 500 employee participants and their child will have a daily diary assessment with telephone interviews and saliva sampling. Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research will serve as the Translational Coordinating Center (TCC), which will have three key functions in Phase 2. First, the TCC will provide logistical support for the WFHN: enhancing the WFHN's internal and external websites, supporting communication, and nurturing employer and employee advisory committees. Second, the TCC will collaborate on a process evaluation that assesses the intervention's fidelity, implementation, and dose received by participants. Third, the TCC will be responsible for translating and disseminating the results of our research to the public and business community by drawing on our dissemination expertise and the science of translation to make the intervention accessible to a wider audience. Since we have already laid a strong base for communications and logistics, we can expand our translational efforts to ensure WFHN findings broadly impact a wide range of US businesses. In this Phase, the WFHN must increase its focus on translating this key research into workplace practice and policy change. The study holds great promise for informing the implementation of evidence based family-friendly policies, and therefore improving the health and well-being of employees and their families nationwide. We will test ways to reduce work-family conflicts at different workplaces. We will share what we learn with the public and business community to improve the health of employees and their families.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 61 publications
