About the Engage Project
The Engage project will develop a roadmap to strengthen work and health practitioners' knowledge, skills and confidence to engage with and apply research evidence in practice, and influence business leaders to help inform strategic decisions about workforce health.
The Engage Project links evidence, practice, and influence to improve workforce health
If you would like to be involved or stay up to date, please fill in the form below and we will be in touch.
Background
Good and safe work is good for health, and businesses benefit from a healthy, productive workforce. The UK government's 'Get Britain Working' strategy encourages employers to prioritise workforce health alongside business performance. However, engaging employers in workforce health remains a challenge.
A key but often overlooked way to influence employer practices is through work and health practitioners e.g. Occupational Health physicians and nurses, vocational rehabilitation consultants, physiotherapists and Human Resource professionals advise employers. Employers directly affect people starting, returning to and staying in work. Yet many practitioners lack the time, access, knowledge, skills and confidence to undertake and utilise research in their practice. This impacts their ability to create compelling arguments needed to influence senior leaders' decisions on workforce health.
Aims
This Development Award will create a clear plan to strengthen work and health practitioners' knowledge, skills and confidence to engage with and apply research evidence in practice. It will also support them in effectively communicating this evidence to business leaders to help inform strategic decisions about workforce health.
Design and Methods
We have worked with stakeholder groups to develop a project plan that addresses shared goals, while protecting the unique and competing interests of the professional / member bodies. Throughout the study, recruitment, study materials, and outputs will be led by regular discussions with the Expert Stakeholder and Patient/ Public Involvement Group (ESPG).
1. Engagement events: We will arrange six engagement events to gather different perspectives from a variety of work and health practitioners, researchers, and senior leaders.
2. National survey of work and health practitioners: We will use information from the engagement events to develop a survey to help us understand how practitioners see their skills and confidence in accessing and using evidence to both inform their practice and influence senior leaders. We will look to discover obstacles and opportunities seen in accessing and using evidence.
3. Co-development of a roadmap for practitioner engagement: We will arrange a round table event to share findings from the engagement events and national survey, and explore the shared and unique obstacles and opportunities held by different stakeholders
Dissemination
Findings will be shared with those who contribute to the project, and more widely through academic and professional conferences, publications and engagement events. Guided by our ESPG we will tailor outputs to meet the needs of different professional groups.
We will be seeking consultation and sharing our findings in various ways throughout the project. If you would like to be involved or stay up to date, please fill in the form below and we will be in touch.
