A reflective analysis of the development of a regional workplace health strategy in the North West of England

Abstract

Purpose

This paper sets out to provide an overview of the development processes, key drivers and the impact of a workplace health strategy developed in the North West of England, between 2005 and 2007. The strategy is led by a Regional Workplace Health Co‐ordinator (funded for two years by regional‐level bodies), and is aimed at a broad range of stakeholders across every layer of influence.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper consists of narrative which was co‐constructed by the Guest Editor (third author of the paper) and the co‐authors of the original strategy (first and second authors of the paper). A reflective interview was conducted with the first and second authors, who were interviewed by the third author in the summer of 2008. This interview was transcribed verbatim and then used to co‐construct the paper that follows. The key questions that the narrative was designed to answer were: why and how was the strategy developed? What was the interplay between national and regional levels of the system? What was the value/impact of the strategy?

Findings

The strategy provided an important platform from which regional players could develop actions that would, in the long term, positively influence the health of workers in the region. The scope and breadth of the regional strategy further informed national developments, but its effective delivery within the North West region was seriously hampered by the lack of co‐ordination, governance and ownership. The long‐term impacts of the strategy are not being measured as no funding was available for its evaluation.

Originality/value

Although many workplace health strategies have been developed, few are ever critically evaluated.

Citation

Dooris, M., Sedgley, L. and Dugdill, L. (2008), "A reflective analysis of the development of a regional workplace health strategy in the North West of England", International Journal of Workplace Health Management, Vol. 1 No. 3, pp. 209-218. https://doi.org/10.1108/17538350810926552