Harvard school of public health center for work, health, and well-being: How do we define, measure, and implement total worker health?

Background and objectives: There is an increasing need to specify what is meant by “integrated” approaches to worksite health promotion and health protection, and to operationalize this definition using valid indicators to assess the level of integration of worker health programs in worksites. This paper will 1) review candidate definitions of integrated approaches to worker health, 2) present Harvard School of Public Health Center for Work Health and Well-being (CWHW) core indicators of integrated approaches, and 3) present examples of challenges and successes CWHW has encountered in implementing these approaches. Methods: This paper relies on literature and programmatic reviews, and a modified Delphi approach as part of the process of developing measures to assess integrated approaches to worker health. Results: Integrated worker health protection and health promotion represents a strategic and operational coordination of policies and programs designed to prevent work-related injuries and illnesses and enhance the overall workforce health and well-being. Core indicators of integrated approaches, represented along a continuum, may include strategic collaboration between those responsible for worksite health promotion and health protection, multi-level strategies, leadership commitment, management and labor engagement strategies, and others. The presentation will include performance metrics for these indicators being developed by CHWH, and discuss challenges and successes in their implementation. Conclusions: The development of performance metrics to assess implementation of integrated approaches to worker health holds promise for guiding future research and practice.