Unit of Intervention and Implementation Research for Worker Health

We do research on healthy and productive work environments

We aim to promote evidence-based practice in health promoting interventions at the workplace by:

• Developing and evaluating methods to promote health, workability and productivity

• Evaluate the method’s cost-effectiveness

• Develop support for effective implementation

• Develop methods for occupational health economic analysis

• Evaluate interventions from an occupational health economic perspective

Our research area includes organisational and social work environment, work-health work environment, work-health economics, and two main disease areas (musculoskeletal conditions and mental ill health) which are the two most prevalent causes of sickness absence and reduced workability.

The unit works actively to develop knowledge within occupational health and methods to promote occupational health. Research is conducted within collaboration with external partners, such as the occupational health services and employer representative partners from both the public and private sectors.  In collaboration with other universities we have developed Kompetenscentret för företagshälsa.

Finally, we are involved in teaching on master-and doctoral-level, for example within the master-program Work and health and the doctoral course Intervention- and implementation research.

Projects: 

• Return to work/improving work ability among employees with stress or common mental disorders

• A problem-solving intervention involving employees at risk of developing common mental disorders and their managers

• Understanding implementation mechanisms: a randomized controlled trial in schools aimed at testing the effectiveness of implementation strategies and their mechanisms of change

• Sickness presenteeism, health and productivity (SHOP)

• Multilevel Interventions to Promote Mental Health in SMEs and Public Workplaces, H-WORK

• Rehabilitation guarantee: Evaluation of the initiation of the national rehabilitation guarantee for common mental disorders and backpain. 

• SPA or Stress prevention at work (prevention of stress-related mental ill-health in the workplace)

• Corona And Manual Professions - CAMP

• Research on work environment within the academia

• Problemlösning vid psykisk ohälsa I Arbetslivet (PIA-studien) – Genusmedveten utvärdering av en insats utförd vid företagshälsovården

• Work environment and productivity in research (AMP)

• Young managers

• ”Should I stay, or should I go”: A study on teachers’ motivation to stay at their workplace

• Managers and leadership

• Managers in the firing line. Managers who have been targeted bullying and/or managers who have been accused of bullying 

• A gender perspective on sick-leave among youth; obstacles and resources for return-to-work as experienced by employees and managers

• Promoting Evidence-based Practice for improved occupational safety and health at Swedish occupational Health services. A research program.

• Evidence based practice within the Swedish occupational health services 

• Promoting evidence-based practice within occupational health

• To evaluate the economic effects of OSH interventions in the workplace 

• Development of productivity loss measures

• Longitudinal Analysis of Nursing Education (LANE-study) – Musculoskeletal health one decade after start of career.

We do research on musculoskeletal conditions and sports medicine

One of the research areas of the unit concerns pain conditions and injuries of the musculoskeletal system, including the back, neck and sports medicine, and the association with psychology and mental health.

Several ongoing studies aim to:

• Understand the mechanisms of pain conditions relating to overload and trauma

• Explore the prevalence, incidence and course of musculoskeletal pain

• Develop and evaluate preventive and rehabilitative interventions for musculoskeletal pain and injuries, including health economy

• Understand the mechanisms of effective interventions

• Identify risk-factors for musculoskeletal pain and injuries.

Our research is conducted with networks of practicing clinicians, occupational health services, employers and sports associations.

Read more about the research group MATRix (MAnual Therapy Research).

Read more about the research group MUSIC (Musculoskeletal & Sports Injury Epidemiology Center).

Projects: 

• Rehabilitation guarantee: Evaluation of the initiation of the national rehabilitation guarantee for common mental disorders and backpain.

• Sustainable University Life (SUN-study) – The increasing mental health problems among students – a cohort study to identify modifiable risk factors for pain and mental illness.

• Prevention of recurrent and persistent low back pain

• Employees' preferences for physical activity as a strategy for managing low back pain

• Corona And Manual Professions  - CAMP

• Back Complaints in Elders, BACE

• Spinal Manipulative Therapy, HRV and pain, SPARC

• Development of a maintenance care instrument (MAINTAIN)

• Pain in the body – Pain in the soul. Activity-limiting pain and mental ill health – identification of modifiable factors that affect risk and prognosis.

• Longitudinal Analysis of Nursing Education (LANE-study) – Musculoskeletal health one decade after start of career.

• The Swedish Handball Cohort – National-wide implementation of injury preventive strategies in adolescent handball

• Stockholm Neck trial (STONE) – A randomized controlled trial of the effect of treatment of disabling neck pain

• Karolinska football Injury Cohort – KIC – Risk factors for football related injuries in young female football players

• Shoulder Management and Assessment Serving High performance (SMASH) – A cohort study of risk factors for injuries in adolescent competitive tennis players

• SPEEID – High performance in tennis

• The Karolinska Handball Study – KHAST I. Shoulder injuries in adolescent elite handball players 

• The Karolinska Handball Study part II – A randomized controlled trial of injury prevention in adolescent elite handball players

• Promoting Evidence-based Practice for improved occupational safety and health at Swedish occupational Health services. A research program. 

• Evidence based practice within the Swedish occupational health services 

• Promoting evidence-based practice within occupational health 

We do research on common mental disorders

Common mental disorders (CMDs) i.e. mild to moderate depression, anxiety, adjustment and stress-related disorders are common and increases mainly among young adults. Diagnoses related to such ill-health is the predominant cause of sick leave in Sweden today. The focus on our research is to find ways to promote health and prevent stress and CMDs.

Several studies are ongoing with focus on:

• Understanding and identifying risk factors for CMD

• Developing and evaluating methods for reducing sick leave due to CMD and increasing return to work

• Developing and evaluating methods for the prevention of stress at the workplace, and rehabilitative measures for employees suffering from CMD, in which the employee’s workability is a central part

• Investigating the possible influence of sex and gender

• Evaluating the cost-effectiveness of different methods

• Developing and evaluating methods for efficient transfer of knowledge, from research into practice

• Understanding the mechanisms behind bullying and harassment

Projects:

• A gender perspective on sick-leave among youth; obstacles and resources for return-to-work as experienced by employees and managers

• A problem-solving intervention in the primary care aimed at increasing return to work among employees suffering from common mental disorders - a cluster-randomized trial 

• A problem-solving intervention involving employees at risk of developing common mental disorders and their managers.

• Coordination of return-to-work among employees on sick leave due to common mental disorders, with focus on barriers, facilitators and ethical aspects 

• Supporting schools with the prevention of mental ill health at the workplace: a randomized controlled trial evaluating implementation strategies effectiveness

• Understanding implementation mechanisms: a randomized controlled trial in schools aimed at testing the effectiveness of implementation strategies and their mechanisms of change

• Multilevel Interventions to Promote Mental Health in SMEs and Public Workplaces, H-WORK

• Rehabilitation guarantee: Evaluation of the initiation of the national rehabilitation guarantee for common mental disorders and backpain. 

• SPA or Stress prevention at work (prevention of stress-related mental ill-health in the workplace)

• Sickness presenteeism, health and productivity (SHOP)

• Sustainable University Life (SUN-study) – The increasing mental health problems among students – a cohort study to identify modifiable risk factors for pain and mental illness

• Pain in the body – Pain in the soul. Activity-limiting pain and mental ill health – identification of modifiable factors that affect risk and prognosis

• Problemlösning vid psykisk ohälsa I Arbetslivet (PIA-studien) – Genusmedveten utvärdering av en insats utförd vid företagshälsovården

• Promoting Evidence-based Practice for improved occupational safety and health at Swedish occupational Health services. A research program. 

• Evidence based practice within the Swedish occupational health services 

• Promoting evidence-based practice within occupational health 

We do research on implementation

One of the unit’s research areas is implementation research which is aimed at promoting the implementation of evidence-based methods within different setting, for example schools and companies.

Studies are conducted with a focus on:

• the development and evaluation of guidelines within occupational health

• the development and evaluation of implementation strategies

• evaluating implementation processes

Projects:

• Supporting schools with the prevention of mental ill health at the workplace: a randomized controlled trial evaluating implementation strategies effectiveness

• Understanding implementation mechanisms: a randomized controlled trial in schools aimed at testing the effectiveness of implementation strategies and their mechanisms of change

• Rehabilitation guarantee: Evaluation of the initiation of the national rehabilitation guarantee for common mental disorders and backpain.

• Promoting Evidence-based Practice for improved occupational safety and health at Swedish occupational Health services. A research program. 

• Evidence based practice within the Swedish occupational health services 

• Promoting evidence-based practice within occupational health 

Head of Unit