Search results

Realist evaluation seeks to answer the question of “what works for whom in which circumstances?” through developing and testing middle range theories (MRTs). MRTs are programme theories that outline how certain mechanisms of an intervention work in a specific context to bring about certain outcomes. In this paper, the authors tested an initial MRT about the mechanism of participation. The authors used evidence from a participatory organisational intervention in five worksites of a large multi-national organisation in the US food service industry.

Qualitative data from 89 process tracking documents and 24 post-intervention, semi-structured interviews with intervention stakeholders were analysed using template analysis.

The operationalised mechanism was partial worksite managers’ engagement with the research team. Six contextual factors (e.g. high workload) impaired participation, and one contextual factor (i.e. existing participatory practices) facilitated participation. Worksite managers’ participation resulted in limited improvement in their awareness of how working conditions can impact on their employees’ safety, health, and well-being. Based on these findings, the authors modified the initial MRT into an empirical MRT.

This paper contributes to the understanding of “what works for whom in which circumstances” regarding participation in organisational interventions.

There is a clear link between dietary behavior and a range of chronic diseases, and overweight and obesity constitute an indirect risk in relation to these diseases. The worksite is a central venue for influencing dietary behavior. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of workplace influences on workers' dietary patterns.

The paper reviews the evidence of the effectiveness of dietary health promotion, and provides a brief overview of appropriate theoretical frameworks to guide intervention design and evaluation. The findings are illustrated through research examples.

Through case studies and published research, it is found that workplace dietary interventions are generally effective, especially fruit and vegetable interventions. There is less consistent evidence on the long‐term effectiveness of workplace weight management interventions, underscoring the need for further research in this area. This paper also reports evidence that changes in the work environment, including through health and safety programs, may contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of workplace health promotion, including dietary interventions. Organizational factors such as work schedule may also influence dietary patterns. The social ecological model, the social contextual model and political process approach are presented as exemplar conceptual models that may be useful when designing or assessing the effects of workplace health promotion.

The paper shows that using the worksite as a setting for influencing health by influencing dietary patterns holds considerable promise and may be instrumental in reducing workers' risk of developing chronic diseases.

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a systematic review of published literature studying the health of African immigrants in the USA and to develop a formal set of recommendations for future researchers aiming to improve the health outcomes in this population.

A comprehensive search was initiated on PubMed, Cochrane, ERIC, DOAJ, Prospero and Scopus databases. Final inclusion criteria were: systematic reviews, studying African Immigrants in the USA, measuring a clinical health outcome, since 1999. Articles were screened in four stages by title, abstract, full-text of the review and full-text of the primary studies within each review. Data was abstracted by identifying general information, study population, outcome measurements, conclusions and recommendations of each review.

In the initial search, 519 potential reviews were identified. After removing duplicates, 473 articles were excluded by screening the title or abstract. After a full-text review of each article and primary study within each article, nine reviews were included in the final synthesis. Reviews covered Female Genital Cutting and Pregnancy Outcomes, Caesarean Births, Gestational Diabetes, Cancer, HIV/AIDS, Body-weight and Acculturation. Among the primary reports included in the final synthesis, less than 50 per cent studied African immigrants in the USA. African Americans living in the USA made up only 11 per cent of the pooled study sample.

Immigrants from Africa are one of the fastest-growing populations in the USA. This group has been underrepresented in health research, leading to a poor understanding of the group’s health outcomes. Health researchers must adopt recommendations and prioritize studies that meet the health needs of Africans during this time of demographic transition.

Systematic reviews represent a bedrock of medical evidence and signify a solid understanding of accepted knowledge in the field. Systematic reviews, however, do not necessarily constitute the end of discovery. Researchers can use existing systematic reviews to critique previous studies or initiate future research. There remain significant research gaps analyzing the health outcomes, behaviors and treatment of subgroups of African immigrants living in the USA. Future research should shift toward the growing needs of the population, leveraging the strengths and diversity of African immigrants now living in the USA.