How to evaluate psychosocial interventions: multidisciplinary approach

Objectives
The general aim of this project is to perform a relevant framework for evaluation of PSR (Psychosocial Risks) and MSD (Musculo Skeletal Disorders) prevention interventions. The purpose is to go beyond RCT (Randomized Control Trial) which is inappropriate for these “complex” interventions. The operational goal is also to produce recommendations, methods and tools adapted to evaluation in this context

Methods
The project involves a multidisciplinary group (psychology, sociology, ergonomics, economics, epidemiology, management and education sciences). The work stages are successively:
- To define the interventions targeted by the project and to consider an intervention typology in the context of improvement of working conditions;
- To confront and if possible to combine the existing theoretical models of evaluation in human and biological sciences;
- To find out a theoretical integrative model;
- To detect present evaluation practices in interventions of PSR and MSD prevention;
- To perform operational methodology and tools in taking into account theoretical issues but also expectations and needs of stakeholders involving in prevention of PSR and MSD.

Results
The considered interventions in this project deal with primary prevention and/or aim improvement of working conditions at the organizational level, excluding for instance personal stress management.
Working groups of field-experimented prevention advisors have been interviewed on strategic and practical issues.
These issues in the one hand and the confrontation of theoretical models of human and biological sciences in the other hand allow detecting convergences and divergences between disciplines according to two points of view:
- Theoretical basis: for each discipline evaluation is considered according to ontology, epistemology, causation, evaluation methods, etc. and the framework of realistic evaluation is retained as a potential integrative model ;
- Operational methods: for each discipline evaluation is described according to objectives of intervention and evaluation (why?), evaluation targets including context, process implantation, organizational effects, health effects, causality relationships between intervention and results (what?), tools (with what?), evaluator position (who?), timing (when?) , etc.
Concrete results will lead to publish a paper on theoretical considerations and a leaflet for stakeholders which will experiment it one-year long before final version.

Conclusion
Edition of both documents (publication and brochure) should contribute to promote implementation of complete and adequate evaluation in the field-interventions dealing with PSR and MSD prevention. Beyond, regular resort of evaluation should provide self-guidance to prevention advisors to better practices in intervention itself. Finally, this evaluation methodology could concern all “complex” interventions which intend to change work organization.