What health and wellbeing services do SMEs in the manufacturing industry require and could these be delivered by a large enterprise partner?

Research question What health and wellbeing services (HWS) do small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing industry require and could these be delivered by a large enterprise partner?

Background Work generally benefits health and it is a statutory obligation for employers to ensure a safe working environment.

Beyond this, the provision of HWS help employees by fostering employment retention, boosting productivity, improving employee-employer relationships, and promoting mental and physical health, and overall well-being. However, only about 30% UK workers can access HWS.

In the UK approximately 66% of employees work in SMEs, with more than half employed in the manufacturing or retail sector.

While 76% of SMEs provide health and safety training, only 26% provide interventions for preventing common health conditions, 25% train line managers to support wellbeing and just 14% offer an employee assistance programme.

The effectiveness of these provisions is rarely evaluated, leading to health inequalities between workers with access to holistic HWS (usually employed by larger organisations) and those in smaller organisations with limited or no access to such provisions.

Aims and Objectives We aim to detail current and past initiatives to embed HWS into SMEs, and understand the barriers and facilitators for developing such services for SMEs delivered from their large enterprise partner. Methods Our proposed study will be divided into 3 work packages (WPs).

In WP1, we will conduct a scoping review of existing models of delivering HWS to SMEs in the UK with an embedded policy review.

In WP2, we will run a qualitative study aiming to explore the opportunities, obstacles, and facilitators for developing and implementing HWS from a large enterprise to their supply chain SMEs, as anticipated by employers and employees of 3 SMEs which have already agreed to participate in the study.

In WP3, we will combine the information from WP1, WP2 and input from our stakeholder and patient/public group to develop a proposal for a feasibility implementation study for delivering bespoke HWS, adapted from the large enterprise partner to several of its supply chain SMEs in the manufacturing sector, including an evaluation of the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the intervention.

Timelines for delivery Our study will span 10 months, starting from 1 October 2023 to July 2024.

WP1, involving the scoping review, will be finished by February 2024, while WP2, the qualitative study, and its analyses will be completed by May 2024.

Simultaneously, WP3, preparation of the feasibility study, will be conducted alongside WP1 and WP2, and will be concluded by June 2024. By July 2024 the final study report and dissemination outputs will be completed.

Anticipated Impact and Dissemination We will produce two scientific publications with research outputs from WP1 and WP2. Findings from the study will also be submitted for presentation at Occupational Health Annual Scientific Meeting. .

Most importantly, our study findings will be disseminated to the SMEs participating in the study, policy makers, and trade unions via our expert stakeholder and patient/public involvement group.