Sisse Grøn

Bio: Sisse Grøn is an academic researcher from Technical University of Denmark. The author has contributed to research in topics: Health promotion & Occupational safety and health. The author has an hindex of 8, co-authored 27 publications receiving 150 citations. Previous affiliations of Sisse Grøn include University of Sydney & University of Southern Denmark.

Workplace restructurings in intervention studies – a challenge for design, analysis and interpretation

Abstract: Interventions in occupational health often target worksites rather than individuals. The objective of this paper is to describe the (lack of) stability in units of analysis in occupational health and safety intervention projects directed toward worksites. A case study approach is used to describe naturally occurring organizational changes in four, large, Nordic intervention projects that ran 3–5 years, covered 3–52 worksites, cost 0.25 mill–2.2 mill €, and involved 3–7 researchers. In all four cases, high rates of closing, merging, moving, downsizing or restructuring was observed, and in all four cases at least one company/worksite experienced two or more re-organizations during the project period. If individual worksites remained, ownership or (for publicly owned) administrative or legal base often shifted. Forthcoming closure led employees and managers to seek employment at other worksites participating in the studies. Key employees involved in the intervention process often changed. Major changes were the rule rather than the exception. Frequent fundamental changes at worksites need to be taken into account when planning intervention studies and raises serious questions concerning design, analyses and interpretation of results. The frequent changes may also have deleterious implications for the potential effectiveness of many real life interventions directed toward worksites. We urge researchers and editors to prioritize this subject in order to improve the quality of future intervention research and preventive action.

Making sense of fishermen’s risk perception

Abstract: In this paper we reflect on the possible reasons for the acceptability of risk in sea fishing and the implications they may have for safety actions and interventions. The data presented in the pape...

Capturing implementation knowledge: applying focused ethnography to study how implementers generate and manage knowledge in the scale-up of obesity prevention programs

Abstract: Bespoke electronic information management systems are being used for large-scale implementation delivery of population health programs. They record sites reached, coordinate activity, and track target achievement. However, many systems have been abandoned or failed to integrate into practice. We investigated the unusual endurance of an electronic information management system that has supported the successful statewide implementation of two evidence-based childhood obesity prevention programs for over 5 years. Upwards of 80% of implementation targets are being achieved. We undertook co-designed partnership research with policymakers, practitioners, and IT designers. Our working hypothesis was that the science of getting evidence-based programs into practice rests on an in-depth understanding of the role programs play in the ongoing system of local relationships and multiple accountabilities. We conducted a 12-month multisite ethnography of 14 implementation teams, including their use of an electronic information management system, the Population Health Information Management System (PHIMS). All teams used PHIMS, but also drew on additional informal tools and technologies to manage, curate, and store critical information for implementation. We identified six functions these tools performed: (1) relationship management, (2) monitoring progress towards target achievement, (3) guiding and troubleshooting PHIMS use, (4) supporting teamwork, (5) evaluation, and (6) recording extra work at sites not related to program implementation. Informal tools enabled practitioners to create locally derived implementation knowledge and provided a conduit between knowledge generation and entry into PHIMS. Implementation involves knowing and formalizing what to do, as well as how to do it. Our ethnography revealed the importance of hitherto uncharted knowledge about how practitioners develop implementation knowledge about how to do implementation locally, within the context of scaling up. Harnessing this knowledge for local use required adaptive and flexible systems which were enabled by informal tools and technologies. The use of informal tools also complemented and supported PHIMS use suggesting that both informal and standardized systems are required to support coordinated, large-scale implementation. While the content of the supplementary knowledge required to deliver the program was specific to context, functions like managing relationships with sites and helping others in the team may be applicable elsewhere.

Orchestration in Work Environment Policy Programs

Abstract: In spite of many years’ efforts, it is difficult to prove substantial improvements of the work environment and policymakers are continuously searching for new efficient strategies. This paper examines the concept of orchestration of work environment programs, based on an empirical analysis of recent Danish policy. Orchestration is a strategy where different stakeholders and activities are integrated into a unified program aimed at a specific target group. The analysis includes three policy cases, supplemented with two company case studies. The research shows a move toward a more governance type of regulation, which is not only emerging in network but also includes more explicitly orchestrated policy programs. The stakeholders participate in the network with different interests and the orchestration of work environment policies is therefore built on a platform of regulation, as it is especially important for employers and unions as key stakeholders in order to accept these shared policies.

Too individualistic for safety culture? Non-traffic related work safety among heavy goods vehicle drivers ☆

Abstract: Introduction This article reports on a study of non-traffic related work safety among drivers of heavy goods vehicles in Denmark. In the heavy goods vehicle transport (HGV) sector only 6.4% of workplace accidents involving drivers are traffic related. HGV work is characterised by solitary work, as drivers tend to work at a physical distance from their own company and their working environment is also influenced by the working environment of other companies e.g. the places where they deliver goods. This study focuses on an analysis of HGV drivers' and managers' differentiated understandings of risk and safety and its management within an organisational context. The situational focus involves viewing HGV drivers' working environment as a part of the organisational structure as well as of other social relationships. An understanding of safety culture as practice is applied with the view of identifying values and attitudes as well as organisational and technical aspects in relation to how individualist or collectivist understandings of risk and safety influence the working environment in HGVs. Method The study applied a mixed methods approach and in this article the qualitative interviews conducted with drivers and managers is the primary data source. Results This study suggests a widespread understanding of drivers as being individually oriented in their work, from drivers and management alike. However, the study also demonstrates that, in conducting their work, the drivers are actually interdependent, and share knowledge frequently, albeit informally. The organisational structure of the company shapes their individual attitudes towards safety but they also report being dependent on relationships with, and information from, their fellow colleagues, former colleagues and friends who shape their understandings and attitudes towards hazards and safety practices. The analysis points to risk-taking and unsafe practices as prevalent among HGV drivers, who often refer to risk as trivial and the management of such risks as one's own responsibility. Knowledge of how to manage risks in everyday practice is shown to be principally related to personal experiences but also to the good advice and examples of fellow drivers. Conclusions The analysis points to interdependent and collectivist practices among HGV drivers even though they are perceived as being individualistically oriented when it comes to safety. Therefore, non-traffic related safety practices, in this case the loading and unloading of vehicles, occur in the grey zone of organisational safety management. Despite the fact that organisational safety initiatives are initiated, the management sees limited possibilities for enforcing them and hence safety practice is often left to the individual driver. Practical applications A safety culture perspective might enhance work safety among HGV drivers if we are able to understand workplace culture in a pluralistic way. Collectivist practice among the drivers can be utilised in order to improve knowledge sharing and situational safety practices. The informal communication identified among the drivers might offer a new model for safety initiatives based on more collectivist, albeit informal, safety culture practices on behalf of HGV companies. Language: en

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

Abstract: What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.

The Answer Is 17 Years, What Is the Question

Abstract: This study aimed to review the literature describing and quantifying time lags in the health research translation process. Papers were included in the review if they quantified time lags in the development of health interventions. The study identified 23 papers. Few were comparable as different studies use different measures, of different things, at different time points. We concluded that the current state of knowledge of time lags is of limited use to those responsible for R&D and knowledge transfer who face difficulties in knowing what they should or can do to reduce time lags. This effectively ‘blindfolds’ investment decisions and risks wasting effort. The study concludes that understanding lags first requires agreeing models, definitions and measures, which can be applied in practice. A second task would be to develop a process by which to gather these data.

Understanding and Measuring Social Capital: A Multidisciplinary Tool for Practitioners

Abstract: The importance of social capital for sustainable development, is by now well recognized. Anthropologists, sociologists, political scientists, and economists have in their own ways, demonstrated the critical role of institutions, networks, and their supporting norms and values, for the success of development interventions. This success often hinges on accurate assessments of social capital in target communities. But the nature, and impact of social capital - the institutions, relationships, attitudes, and values that govern interactions among people - are not easily quantified. "Understanding and Measuring Social Capital" provides a conceptual review, and measurement tools, in a form readily available for development practitioners. The book discusses the respective value of quantitative, and qualitative approaches to the analysis of social capital, illustrating the discussion with examples, and case studies from many countries. It also presents the Social Capital Assessment Tool, which combines quantitative, and qualitative instruments to measure social capital at the level of household, community, and organization, drawing on multidisciplinary, empirical experiences, an application which can provide project managers with valuable baseline, and monitoring information about social capital in its different dimensions.

Changing Work and Work-Family Conflict: Evidence from the Work, Family, and Health Network*

Abstract: Schedule control and supervisor support for family and personal life are work resources that may help employees manage the work-family interface. However, existing data and designs have made it difficult to conclusively identify the effects of these work resources. This analysis utilizes a group-randomized trial in which some units in an information technology workplace were randomly assigned to participate in an initiative, called STAR, that targeted work practices, interactions, and expectations by (a) training supervisors on the value of demonstrating support for employees' personal lives and (b) prompting employees to reconsider when and where they work. We find statistically significant, though modest, improvements in employees' work-family conflict and family time adequacy and larger changes in schedule control and supervisor support for family and personal life. We find no evidence that this intervention increased work hours or perceived job demands, as might have happened with increased permeability of work across time and space. Subgroup analyses suggest the intervention brings greater benefits to employees more vulnerable to work-family conflict. This study advances our understanding of the impact of social structures on individual lives by investigating deliberate organizational changes and their effects on work resources and the work-family interface with a rigorous design.