From Research-to-Practice: An Adaptation and Dissemination of the COMPASS Program for Home Care Workers

• Main Authors: Ryan Olson, Jennifer A. Hess, Kelsey N. Parker, Sharon V. Thompson, Anjali Rameshbabu, Kristy Luther Rhoten, Miguel Marino
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-12-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: home care workers; workplace; occupational; safety; health; well-being; dissemination
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/12/2777

The COMmunity of Practice And Safety Support (COMPASS) program was developed to prevent injuries and advance the health and well-being of home care workers. The program integrates elements of peer-led social support groups with scripted team-based programs to help workers learn together, solve problems, set goals, make changes, and enrich their supportive professional network. After a successful pilot study and randomized controlled trial, COMPASS was adapted for the Oregon Home Care Commission&#8217;s training system for statewide dissemination. The adapted program included fewer total meetings (7 versus 13), an accelerated meeting schedule (every two weeks versus monthly), and a range of other adjustments. The revised approach was piloted with five groups of workers (total <i>n</i> = 42) and evaluated with pre- and post-program outcome measures. After further adjustments and planning, the statewide rollout is now in progress. In the adaptation pilot several psychosocial, safety, and health outcomes changed by a similar magnitude relative to the prior randomized controlled trial. Preliminary training evaluation data (<i>n</i> = 265) show high mean ratings indicating that workers like the program, find the content useful, and intend to make changes after meetings. Facilitating factors and lessons learned from the project may inform future similar efforts to translate research into practice.