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SAMHSA
Workplace Model, Effective, and Promising
Programs
To help professionals in
the field and the public become more aware of evidence-based substance abuse
prevention, mental health treatment, and related programs, the Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse
Prevention (CSAP) created the National Registry of Effective Programs and
Practices (NREPP). NREPP conducts rigorous scientific reviews that have yielded
a repository of evidence-based programs. In 2002, SAMHSA’s Model Programs
Dissemination Project received its first evidence-based programs designed to
eliminate or reduce substance use and abuse in work settings.
A number of
workplace-oriented programs have been accepted into the NREPP repository of
substance abuse prevention, early intervention and treatment programs.
Model, Effective, and
Promising Programs are defined as follows:
·
SAMHSA Model Programs are Effective
Programs whose
developers have the capacity and have coordinated and agreed with SAMHSA to
provide quality materials, training, and technical assistance to practitioners
who wish to adopt their programs.
·
Effective Programs are prevention programs that
produce a consistent positive pattern of results.
·
Promising Programs provide useful, scientifically
defensible information about what works in prevention but do not yet have
sufficient scientific support to meet standards set for Effective/Model
programs.
The following tables
describe SAMHSA’s Model, Effective, and Promising Programs designed for
workplace settings.
Model Programs
|
Description |
Results/Outcomes |
|
Coping with Work and Family Stress: is a 16-session weekly group intervention designed
to teach employees how to develop and apply effective coping strategies to
deal with stressors at work and at home. Program Developer
David
L. Snow, Ph.D. |
The program works because it: ·
Increases use of social
support ·
Promotes changes in the
meaning of stressful events ·
Promotes less reliance on
avoidance coping strategies ·
Promotes increased use of a
wider range of stress management approaches ·
Preventions or reduces of
psychological symptoms such as depression and anxiety |
Program participants show: ·
16% increase in the use of active behavioral
coping skills ·
15% increase in the use of social support
coping ·
33% reduction in avoidance coping ·
17% reduction in social withdrawal coping ·
31% reduction in alcohol consumption among a
female sample, 16% reduction in a male and female sample, and 26% reduction
for a subgroup of higher alcohol users within the male and female sample ·
18% reduction among a female sample and 11%
reduction in a male and female sample in depression, anxiety, and somatic
complaints |
|
Healthy Workplace: is a set of workplace substance abuse
prevention interventions that reduce unsafe drinking, illegal drug use, and
prescription drub abuse while improving the health practices of adult
workers. Cast in a health promotion
framework and rooted in social-cognitive principles of behavior change, the
program integrates substance abuse prevention material into popular health
promotion programs, defusing the stigma that accompanies substance abuse,
thus removing barriers to help-seeking behavior.
Program Developer
Royer F. Cook, Ph.D. ISA Associates, Inc. Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone: 703-739-0880 Fax: 703-739-0462 |
The
program works because it: ·
Reaches the mainstream of workers through the
positive vehicle of health promotion ·
Raises awareness of the benefits of healthful
practices and the hazards of using alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs and
misusing legal drugs ·
Teaches employees specific techniques for
improving health and reducing use of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs ·
Uses carefully constructed videos to raise
self-efficacy and provide models for how healthful practices can be embraced
and substance abuse reduced. |
Program
participants show: ·
47% reduction in the number of drinks consumed
in past 30 days ·
67% reduction in the number of days of heavy
drinking in past 30 days ·
Improved motivation to reduce drinking ·
Reduced use of alcohol or illegal drugs to
relieve stress ·
Increased perceived risks of alcohol and
illegal drug use ·
Improved health practices and beliefs, such as
confidence in ability to improve health |
|
JOBS Program: is a group-based psychological educational
intervention that has the goals of promoting reemployment and enhancing the
coping capacities of unemployed workers and their families. The intervention offers a system for
delivery and evaluation of a job-search skill enhancement workshop for
unemployed job seekers 17 to 65 years of age. Program Developer
Richard H. Price, Ph.D. |
The program works because it helps participants: ·
Identify effective
job-search strategies ·
Improve job-search skills ·
Increase self-esteem and
confidence ·
Remain motivated to engage
and persist in job-search activities until they become reemployed |
·
Fewer depressive episodes
among JOBS Program participants ·
Greatest benefit obtained
by high-risk population – uneducated workers and unemployed women ·
Study participants found
higher paying jobs ·
Program’s cost
rapidly offset by increased tax revenues associated with higher paying jobs
obtained by program participants |
|
Team Awareness: is a workplace training program that addresses
behavior risks associated with substance abuse among employees, their
coworkers and, indirectly, their families.
This program has been shown to increase employee help-seeking for and
supervisor responsiveness to troubled workers, enhance the work climate, and
reduce problem drinking. Program Developer
Joel Bennett, Ph.D. Organizational Wellness and
Learning Systems 4413
Overton Terrace Phone:
817-921-4260 Cell:
817-845-2772 |
The program works because it: ·
Promotes social health and
increased communication between workers ·
Improves knowledge and
attitudes toward alcohol- and drug-related protective factors in the
workplace such as a company policy or Employee Assistance Programs ·
Increases peer referral
behaviors |
Program participants are: ·
Significantly less likely
to come to work under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol ·
Two times as likely to
decrease problem drinking behaviors ·
Nearly three time less
likely to work with or miss work due to a hangover ·
Likely to double their
help-seeking behavior ·
Significantly more likely
to work in groups that encourage coworkers to stop a drinking or drug habit |
Effective Programs |
Description |
Results/Outcomes |
|
Wellness Outreach Program: A Step-by-Step Guide: tested the efficacy of embedding alcohol moderation
content within a general health and cardiovascular screening program. Program Developer Max A Heirich, Ph.D. |
Depending on assignment, one-half of the
participants received follow-up wellness counseling sessions. During session, counselors reviewed
client’s health risks with them, encouraged them to select one health risk for
immediate improvement efforts and to choose a simple behavior change that
could begin to improve their health, and addressed the role alcohol plays in
each cardiovascular risk relevant for the client. All participants were re-screened 2 years
after the initial screening. |
At post test, more participants who: ·
Were at-risk
drinkers (>2 or 3 drinks/day) and who received continued wellness
counseling with alcohol-focused information lowered their drinking to a safe
level compared to at-risk drinkers who received only the
screening/re-screening ·
Were initially
“safe” drinkers and who received the continued wellness counseling were more
likely to stay safe drinkers than those safe drinkers in the
screening/re-screening ·
Received
continued wellness counseling became cardiovascular disease (CVD)-risk free
compared to those who received no wellness counseling ·
Did not receive wellness
counseling increased their number of CVD risks compared to those in continued
wellness counseling |
|
Promising Programs |
Description |
Results/Outcomes |
|
Parenting Partnership: is a collaborative initiative between corporate
worksites and human service providers that focused on enhancing parenting
skills, knowledge, and attitudes while at the same time facilitating the
creation of support networks within the worksite. The project strives to
prevent substance abuse and related socio-emotional, behavioral and academic
difficulties by reducing the exposure of children and youth to developmental
risk conditions and by enhancing protective factors in the family. Program Developer
Robert D. Felner, Ph.D. |
This program is based on the understandings that: ·
Parents will provide their
children with developmentally enhancing family environments to the extent
that they possess the skills, support and information they need to function
and handle stress in healthy ways ·
Parents will be able to use
those skills and draw on critical support resources (other parents in the
workplace) to avoid their own involvement in substance abuse and other
adaptive difficulties. |
·
80% program participant
retention rate ·
78% session attendance rate
among parents for the full length of the program ·
Program overcame
traditionally lower-levels of participation by demographic subgroups such as
fathers and families living in poverty ·
Program dosage was
significantly related to impact: program parents who received high dosage
levels showed better short- and longer-term impacts on child behavior
problems and strengths, substance abuse resistance-related knowledge and
attitudes, reduced parental stress, depression and irritability, and
increased utilization of social support |
Upcoming Workplace Programs
Effective
Program
Developer
Jeremy
Bray, Ph.D.
Research
Triangle Institute
Program Name: Rockford
Employee Assistance Programs
(EAPs) deal with alcohol and other health and behavior problems by offering
such services as training and consultation with supervisors, outreach and
education, short-term counseling, and referrals to longer-term services. The
Rockford Enhanced EAP was developed to deliver comprehensive outreach services
to all employees who may have alcohol-related and other workplace problems.
Standard EAP materials, typically targeting white males, were enhanced to
address the concerns of women and minorities. Counselors with expertise in
gender, family, and cultural issues were employed, and training curricula were
revised to better prepare new and current EAP counselors in providing effective
services for the needs of diverse populations. Supervisor training materials
were enhanced to increase awareness of potential discriminatory practices and
attitudes that may affect EAP use. Workplace outreach manuals were revised to
be inclusive of women and minorities without targeting them as troubled.
Promising
Program
Developer
Dr. Lynn M. Joseph
Discovery Dynamics Incorporated
Program
Name: The Job Loss Recovery Program
The Job-Loss Recovery Program™ utilizes self-generated
imagery. The imagery intervention is composed of four components: emotional
expression, ideal self, imaginal rehearsal of a successful job interview, and
positive growth. First, participants mentally experience, express, and resolve
thoughts and emotions surrounding the job loss, followed by the construction of
a valued successful possible self. Third, participants mentally rehearse
competent performance at a job interview while imagining attaining their
desired job. Lastly, participants are guided in constructing psychological and
spiritual growth opportunities, such as an inner mentor. Based on past theory
and research it was expected that the four-component career transition program
would enhance mental and emotional responses to job loss and facilitate
reemployment relative to a placebo control group.
Program
Developer
Dr. Kenneth Silverman
Department of Psychiatry and
Behavioral Health Sciences
5200 Eastern Avenue
Program
Name: Therapeutic Workplace
In the Therapeutic Workplace, drug abuse patients are hired
and paid to work. Participants are routinely required to provide drug-free urine
sample to gain and maintain access to the workplace. Participants gain a salary
as long as they remain drug-free, thus promoting drug abstinence. Voucher
reinforcement was utilized to promote abstinence, and to maintain workplace
attendance. In addition, voucher reinforcement was arranged to promote
professional demeanor, learning and productivity. Patients earned monetary
vouchers that could be exchanged for goods and services.
Other workplace interventions that have been successfully evaluated
include:
GetFit.SAMHSA.Gov
GetFit.SAMHSA.Gov is a free,
research-based Web site that can be easily tailored to your existing drug-free
workplace program, employee assistance program, or health and wellness
initiative. GetFit provides a confidential, stigma-free way for employees and
their families to find information on physical health, mental health, drugs,
and alcohol. GetFit takes the messages of substance abuse prevention, early
intervention, and treatment and provides them in an overall strategy for health,
wellness, and safety in the workplace and at home.
Businesses of any size from any industry can
customize their own version of GetFit through an easy, step-by-step online
process. Organizations can select graphics, display a corporate logo, and offer
valuable company-specific information-contacts, policies, programs, services,
resources, and benefits information-all in one centralized At Work section of
the Web site. Organizations who choose to customize their own version of GetFit
will receive a unique Web address specific to their workplace such as http://www.myworkplace.atgetfit.net
For more information, visit http://getfit.samhsa.gov
PeerCare
Program
Evaluator
Ted R. Miller, Ph.D.
Pacific Institute for
Research and Evaluation
Phone: 301-755-2727
Fax: 301-755-2799
Email: miller@pire.org
Program
Description
PeerCare
is a union-management partnership that uses employee occupational peer groups
to stop the acceptance and support of working while under the influence of
drugs or alcohol. In exchange for employee efforts, management moved from a
punitive approach to supportive and restorative aid for substance abusers.
Program volunteers educate, intervene, and refer workers to appropriate support
services to attain healthier, substance-free lifestyles without employer
disciplinary action. The program works because:
·
Strict
confidentiality is maintained.
·
It
has corporate and union champions.
·
The
unions operate the program with significant company financial support.
·
It
treats all volunteers as equals, regardless of job title.
·
More
than 20% of the workforce received 1-2 days of training, primarily in 1988-91.
·
Regular
meetings and successes sustain the volunteers.
·
It
provides effective peer support for large numbers of at-risk employees with
off-site, overnight work.
·
It
coordinates with an in-house EAP.
·
It
operates in an environment with random and for-cause drug and alcohol testing.
Results/Outcomes
The program:
·
Changed the corporate culture from tolerating and protecting
substance abusers to getting them off the worksite and helping them.
·
Retained its volunteers. In 2000, 37% of employees trained
since 1988 were serving on teams; 10% were in management and thus ineligible to
be team members; 33% were inactive; and 20% had left the company.
·
Reduced
injuries by 50%, including testing-related reductions.
·
Significantly
reduced disciplinary actions and related terminations.
·
Saved
the company $28 in injury, disciplinary, and turnover costs for each dollar
invested (with testing costs included in the program costs).