Affiliations: [a]
Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada
| [b]
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
| [c] Toronto Transit Commission Toronto, ON, Canada
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Rahel Eynan, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, The Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario in London, ON, Lawson Health Research Institute, 750 Base Line Road East, Suite 105-7, London, ON N6C 2R5, Canada. Tel.: +1 519 685 8500 Ext:74914; Fax: +1 519 434 6955; E-mail: Rahel.Eynan@lhsc.on.ca.
Abstract: The Acute Psychological Trauma (APT) Study was a collaboration between an acute care hospital, a specialized multidisciplinary program designed to meet the mental health needs of injured workers, and a large urban public transit system. The overall purpose was to evaluate a Best Practices Intervention (BPI) for employees affected by acute psychological trauma compared to a Treatment as Usual (TAU) group. The specific purpose is to discuss facilitators and barriers that were recognized in implementing and carrying out mental health research in a workplace setting. Over the course of the APT study, a joint implementation committee was responsible for day-to-day study operations and made regular observations on the facilitators and barriers that arose throughout the study. The facilitators to this study included the longstanding relationships among the partners, increased recognition for the need of mental health research in the workplace, and the existence of a community advisory committee. The significant barriers to doing this study of mental health research in the workplace included differences in organizational culture, inconsistent union support, co-interventions, and stigma. Researchers and funding agencies need to be flexible and provide additional resources in order to overcome the barriers that can exist doing workplace mental health research.
