The Public Health Responsibility Deal making the workplace healthier?

• Published in: Journal of public health (Oxford, England) Vol. 39; no. 2; pp. 373 - 386
• Main Authors: Knai, Cécile, Scott, Courtney, D’Souza, Preethy, James, Lesley, Mehrotra, Anushka, Petticrew, Mark, Eastmure, Elizabeth, Durand, Mary Alison, Mays, Nicholas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01.06.2017
• Subjects: Adult; England; Female; Health Policy; Health Promotion - methods; Humans; Interventions (preentive); Male; Middle Aged; Motivation; Occupational Health - standards; Program Evaluation; Public Health - standards; Public-Private Sector Partnerships; Workplace - standards; public–private partnership; occupational; workplace; mental health; health checks; staff restaurants
• ISSN: 1741-3842; 1741-3850
• DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdw047

The Public Health Responsibility Deal (RD) in England is a public-private partnership which aims to improve public health by addressing issues such as health at work. This paper analyses the RD health at work pledges in terms of their likely effectiveness and added value. A review of evidence on the effectiveness of the RD 'health at work' pledges to improve health in the workplace; analysis of publically available data on signatory organizations' plans and progress towards achieving the pledges; and assessment of the likelihood that workplace activities pledged by signatories were brought about by participating in the RD. The 'health at work' pledges mostly consist of information sharing activities, and could be more effective if made part of integrated environmental change at the workplace. The evaluation of organizations' plans and progress suggests that very few actions (7%) were motivated by participation in the RD, with most organizations likely (57%) or probably (36%) already engaged in the activities they listed before joining the RD. The RD's 'health at work' pledges are likely to contribute little to improving workplace health as they stand but could contribute more if they were incorporated into broader, coherent workplace health strategies.