SMART Supervisor Training Program to Prevent Work Disability

NCT02309996 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: MOP-130505
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 350
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Supervisors of injured workers play a key role in preventing prolonged work absences. Providing supervisors with tools to improve their response to musculoskeletal and other workplace injuries or illnesses may improve worker health and disability outcomes. The primary objective of this research study is to determine the effectiveness of the supervisor training program, the SMART Supervisor Training Program, on reducing the total duration of workers' lost-time claims. The secondary objectives are 1) to determine the effectiveness of the training program on reducing the cumulative incidence of workers' lost-time injuries and sick leave days; 2) to determine if implementation of the training program is associated with improvements in hypothesized mediating variables, such as attitudes toward job accommodations, response to workplace injury, and communication with employees and healthcare providers; 3) to investigate the implementation of the training program by conducting a process evaluation. The investigators hypothesize that:

1. 1.the duration of lost-time claims for workers working under supervisors receiving the training program will be shorter than the duration of lost-time claims for workers with supervisors in the control group;
2. 2.the cumulative incidence of lost-time injuries and sick leave days will be lower in the group receiving the training program compared to the control group;
3. 3.the training program will be associated with increased knowledge, response, communication and changed attitudes towards workplace accommodation.

Conditions

Work Disability Reduction and Prevention; Improving Return-to-Work Outcomes

Keywords

Randomized Controlled Trial; Intervention Studies; Inservice Training; Personnel Management; Work place; Work accommodation; Job modification; Supervision; Administration; Return to Work; Industrial Psychology; Human Engineering; Risk Management; Organization and Administration; Work Disability; Occupational Diseases; Occupational Injury; Occupational Health; Occupational Exposure; Sick Leave; Absenteeism; Employee Health

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Total duration of workers' lost-time claims due to injury or illness for existing and new claims

  Aggregated lost-time due to injury or illness.

  1 year period post-randomization

Secondary Outcomes (17)

• Cumulative incidence of workers' lost-time injuries

  1 year period post-randomization

• Total number of workers' sick leave days

  1 year period post-randomization

• Job Accommodation Scale (JAS)

  Baseline, 3 months, 6 months

• Supervisor's Role in Rehabilitation Questionnaire

  Baseline, 3 months, 6 months

• Behaviour Measure for Supervisors to Support Return to Work (SSRW) questionnaire

  6 months

Study Arms (2)

Supervisor Training Program

EXPERIMENTAL

All supervisors from work units randomized to the intervention will receive a supervisor training program, the Supervisor/Manager Accommodation Recognition \& Training (SMART) Program. This training program is modeled on a program developed by Shaw and colleagues of the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety (LMRIS). The aim of the training program is to prevent/reduce work disability by improving supervisor communication, response to workplace injury, and problem solving mechanisms. The training program is designed to be administered by two facilitators to groups of 10 to 12 supervisors, during one 4-hour session or two 2-hour sessions. The training program delivery mode includes PowerPoint presentation with supplementary audio or video segments, case studies, and group discussion.

Behavioral: Supervisor Training Program

No Supervisor Training Program

NO INTERVENTION

All supervisors from work units randomized to the control group will not receive the supervisor training program.

Interventions

Supervisor Training Program BEHAVIORAL

Supervisor Training Program

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Supervisors
• Currently employed at the work units selected by participating employers
• Supervise at least one working employee (i.e., non-supervisor)
• Would deal with issues of work accommodation should the need arise

You may not qualify if:

• Higher level supervisors who only supervise lower-level supervisors
• Do not speak/read English

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Lakehead University: lead
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR): collaborator
• Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety: collaborator
• Institute for Work & Health: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Lakehead University

Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7B5E1, Canada

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Occupational Diseases; Occupational Injuries

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Wounds and Injuries

Study Officials

• Vicki L Kristman, PhD

  Lakehead University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Vicki L Kristman, PhD

CONTACT

807-343-8961; vkristman@lakeheadu.ca

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 2, 2014
• First Posted: December 5, 2014
• Study Start: December 1, 2014
• Primary Completion: March 1, 2018
• Study Completion: December 1, 2018
• Last Updated: August 24, 2017

Record last verified: 2017-08

Locations

CA (1)