Workplace health promotion interventions for Australian workers with intellectual disability

Abstract

Workplace health promotion (WHP) and the general wellbeing of workers in the Australian workforce should be a priority for all management. Our study argues that management support for workers with an intellectual disability (WWID) can make a difference to their health promotion and ultimately their participation in the workforce. We adopt a qualitative approach, through semi-structured interviews with 22 managers, across various organizations, to examine their perspectives around the WHP of WWID. We integrate the key values of WHP; rights for health, empowerment for health and participation for health (Spencer, Corbin and Miedema, Sustainable development goals for health promotion: a critical frame analysis, Health Promot Int 2019;34:847-58) into the four phases of WHP interventions; needs assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation (Bortz and Döring, Research Methods and Evaluation for Human and Social Scientists, Heidelberg: Springer, 2006) and examine management perspectives (setting-based approach) on WHP of WWID. Where this integration had taken place, we found some evidence of managers adopting more flexible, innovative and creative approaches to supporting the health promotion of WWID. This integration seemed to drive continuous improvement for WWID health promotion at the workplace. We also found evidence that some organizations, such an exemplar film company, even over deliver in terms of supporting WWID needs by encouraging their capabilities in film making interventions, whilst others are more direct in their support by matching skills to routine jobs. Our approach demonstrates that incorporating key WHP values into the four-phase WHP framework is critical for the effective health promotion of WWID.

Keywords: health promotion; values; wellbeing; workers with intellectual disability; workplace interventions.