Dried Blood Spot Collection of Health Biomarkers to Maximize Participation in Population Studies

Biomarkers are directly-measured biological indicators of disease, health, exposures, or other biological information. In population and social sciences, biomarkers need to be easy to obtain, transport, and analyze. Dried Blood Spots meet this need, and can be collected in the field with high response rates. These elements are particularly important in longitudinal study designs including interventions where attrition is critical to avoid, and high response rates improve the interpretation of results. Dried Blood Spot sample collection is simple, quick, relatively painless, less invasive then venipuncture, and requires minimal field storage requirements (i.e. samples do not need to be immediately frozen and can be stored for a long period of time in a stable freezer environment before assay). The samples can be analyzed for a variety of different analytes, including cholesterol, C-reactive protein, glycosylated hemoglobin, numerous cytokines, and other analytes, as well as provide genetic material. DBS collection is depicted as employed in several recent studies

Daily stressor reactivity during adolescence: The buffering role of parental warmth.

This study examined youth stressor reactivity in the form of links between daily stressors and adolescents’ negative affect, physical health symptoms, and cortisol patterns. We also tested whether youth gender and parental warmth moderated these linkages

The effects of a workplace intervention on employees’ cortisol awakening response

Work-related stressors are known to adversely affect employees’ stress physiology, including the cortisol awakening response (CAR)–or the spike in cortisol levels shortly after people wake up that aids in mobilizing energy. A flat or blunted CAR has been linked to chronic stress and burnout. This daily diary study tested the effects of a workplace intervention on employed parents’ CAR. Specifically, we tested whether the effects of the intervention on CAR were moderated by the type of days (workday versus non-work day). Data came from 94 employed parents from an information technology firm who participated in the baseline and 12-month diurnal cortisol components of the Work, Family, and Health Study, a group-randomized field experiment. The workplace intervention was designed to reduce work-family conflict (WFC) and implemented after the baseline data collection. Diurnal salivary cortisol was collected on 4 days at both baseline and 12 months. Multilevel modeling revealed that the intervention significantly increased employees’ CAR at 12 months on non-workdays, but this was not evident on workdays or for employees in the usual practice condition. The results provide evidence that the intervention was effective in enhancing employees’ biological stress physiology particularly during opportunities for recovery that are more likely to occur on non-work days.National Institute on Aging (U01AG027669)Work, Family & Health Network (U01HD051217)Work, Family & Health Network (U01HD051218)Work, Family & Health Network (U01HD051256)Work, Family & Health Network (U01HD051276)U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social SciencesNational Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (U010H008788)Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (2004-12-4)William T. Grant Foundation (9844)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Penn State General Clinical Research Center. Grant M01-RR-10732

Work-Family Conflict, Family-Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (FSSB), and Sleep Outcomes

Although critical to health and well-being, relatively little research has been conducted in the organizational literature on linkages between the work-family interface and sleep. Drawing on Conservation of Resources theory, we use a sample of 623 information technology workers to examine the relationships between work-family conflict, family-supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB), and sleep quality and quantity. Validated wrist actigraphy methods were used to collect objective sleep quality and quantity data over a one week period of time, and survey methods were used to collect information on self-reported work-family conflict, FSSB, and sleep quality and quantity. Results demonstrated that the combination of predictors (i.e., work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict, FSSB) was significantly related to both objective and self-report measures of sleep quantity and quality. Future research should further examine the work-family interface to sleep link and make use of interventions targeting the work-family interface as a means for improving sleep health

Psychosocial Workplace Factors and Healthcare Utilization: A Study of Two Employers

Abstract Background: While a large literature links psychosocial workplace factors with health and health behaviors, there is very little work connecting psychosocial workplace factors to healthcare utilization. Methods: Survey data were collected from two different employers using computer-assisted telephone interviewing as a part of the Work-Family Health Network (2008-2013): one in the information technology (IT) service industry and one that is responsible for a network of long-term care (LTC) facilities. Participants were surveyed four times at six month intervals. Responses in each wave were used to predict utilization in the following wave. Four utilization measures were outcomes: having at least one emergency room (ER)/Urgent care, having at least one other healthcare visit, number of ER/urgent care visits, and number of other healthcare visits. Population-averaged models using all four waves controlled for health and other factors associated with utilization. Results: Having above median job demands was positively related to the odds of at least one healthcare visit, odds ratio [OR] 1.37 (P<.01), and the number of healthcare visits, incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.36 (P<.05), in the LTC sample. Work-to-family conflict was positively associated with the odds of at least one ER/urgent care visit in the LTC sample, OR 1.15 (P<.05), at least one healthcare visit in the IT sample, OR 1.35 (P<.01), and with more visits in the IT sample, IRR 1.35 (P<.01). Greater schedule control was associated with reductions in the number of ER/urgent care visits, IRR 0.71 (P<.05), in the IT sample. Conclusion: Controlling for other factors, some psychosocial workplace factors were associated with future healthcare utilization. Additional research is needed

An Integrative, Multilevel, and Transdisciplinary Research Approach to Challenges of Work, Family, and Health

Recognizing a need for rigorous, experimental research to support the efforts of workplaces and policymakers in improving the health and wellbeing of employees and their families, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention formed the Work, Family & Health Network (WFHN). The WFHN is implementing an innovative multisite study with a rigorous experimental design (adaptive randomization, control groups), comprehensive multilevel measures, a novel and theoretically based intervention targeting the psychosocial work environment, and translational activities. This paper describes challenges and benefits of designing a multilevel and transdisciplinary research network that includes an effectiveness study to assess intervention effects on employees, families, and managers; a daily diary study to examine effects on family functioning and daily stress; a process study to understand intervention implementation; and translational research to understand and inform diffusion of innovation. Challenges were both conceptual and logistical, spanning all aspects of study design and implementation. In dealing with these challenges, however, the WFHN developed innovative, transdisciplinary, multi-method approaches to conducting workplace research that will benefit both the research and business communities

Lack of change in glucose metabolism in eszopiclone-treated primary insomnia patients

Study objectives Primary insomnia (PI) may increase diabetes risk. We tested the hypothesis that the effects of PI on glucose metabolism could be improved by 2 months of pharmacological treatment. Methods: Adult men and women meeting clinical criteria for PI were studied (n=20, body mass index 25.1±2.7 kg/m2, age 39.7±7.9) in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. The study consisted of two 1-day inpatient admissions to a General Clinical Research Center separated by 2 months of at-home treatment with 3 mg eszopiclone or placebo. During inpatient admissions, each subject underwent two intravenous glucose tolerance tests (IVGTTs) pre- and post-treatment. Diet was controlled for micro- and macro-nutrient content and calories on the day prior to pre- and post-treatment IVGTTs. Subjects were randomized following completion of the initial IVGTT to take either placebo or eszopiclone 30 min prior to bedtime at home for 2 months. Results: Two-month eszopiclone treatment did not change insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance, or any of the sleep measures significantly, compared with placebo. Changes in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c, clinical measure of glycemic control) were correlated with changes in diary-reported total sleep time in the eszopiclone group (r=0.66, p=0.0360), and in the combined groups’ data (r=0.55, p=0.0125). Changes in polysomnography-measured wake after sleep onset, a hallmark of PI, were positively related to changes in IVGTT-derived glucose effectiveness, or non-insulin-mediated glucose uptake. Conclusion: Treatment with 3 mg eszopiclone for 2 months, compared with placebo, did not significantly influence either sleep or measures of diabetes risk in this preliminary study

Can a Flexibility/Support Initiative Reduce Turnover Intentions and Exits? Results from the Work, Family, and Health Network

We draw on panel data from a randomized field experiment to assess the effects of a flexibility/supervisor support initiative called STAR on turnover intentions and voluntary turnover among professional technical workers in a large firm. An unanticipated exogenous shock-the announcement of an impending merger-occurred in the middle of data collection. Both organizational changes reflect an emerging employment contract characterized by increasing employee temporal flexibility even as employers wield greater flexibility in reorganizing their workforces. We theorized STAR would reduce turnover intentions and actual turnover by making it more attractive to stay with the current employer. We found being in a STAR team (versus a usual practice team) lowered turnover intentions 12 months later and reduced the risk of voluntary turnover over almost three years. We also examined potential mechanisms accounting for the effects of these two organizational changes; STAR effects on reducing turnover intentions are partially mediated by reducing work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict, burnout, psychological distress, perceived stress, and increasing job satisfaction. The effect of learning about the merger on increasing turnover intentions is fully mediated by increased job insecurity. STAR also moderates the negative effects of learning about the merger on turnover intentions for different subgroups. Findings provide insights into the effectiveness of an organizational intervention, the dynamics of organizations, and how competing logics of two organizational changes affect employees' labor market expectations and behavior

Work/ family demands and cardiometabolic risk and sleep duration in extended care employees: multilevel findings from the Work, family and Health Network

The study investigates the associations of work-family conflict and other work and family conditions with objectively-measured outcomes cardiometabolic risk and sleep duration in a study of employees in nursing homes. Multilevel analyses are used to assess cross-sectional associations between employee and job characteristics and health in analyses of 1,524 employees in 30 extended care facilities in a single company. We examine work and family conditions in relation to two major study health outcomes: 1) a validated, Framingham cardiometabolic risk score based on measured blood pressure, cholesterol, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), body mass index (BMI), and self-reported tobacco consumption, and 2) wrist actigraphy-based measures of sleep duration. In fully-adjusted multi-level models, Work-To-Family conflict, but not Family-to-Work conflict was positively associated with cardiometabolic risk. Having a lower-level occupation (nursing assistants vs. nurses) was also associated with increased cardiometabolic risk, while being married and having younger children at home was protective. A significant age by Work-To-Family conflict interaction revealed that higher Work-To-Family conflict was more strongly associated with increased cardiometabolic risk in younger employees. With regard to sleep duration, high Family-To-Work Conflict was significantly associated with shorter sleep duration. In addition, working long hours and having younger children at home were both independently associated with shorter sleep duration. High Work-To-Family Conflict was associated with longer sleep duration. These results indicate that different dimensions of work-family conflict (i.e., Work-To-Family Conflict and Family-To-Work Conflict) may both pose threats to cardiometabolic risk and sleep duration for employees. This study contributes to the research on work- family conflict suggesting that Work-To-Family and Family-To-Work conflict are associated with specific outcomes. Translating theory and our findings to preventive interventions entails recognition of the dimensionality of work and family dynamics and the need to target specific work and family conditions

Intervention Effects on Safety Compliance and Citizenship Behaviors: Evidence From the Work, Family, and Health Study

We tested the effects of a work–family intervention on employee reports of safety compliance and organizational citizenship behaviors in 30 health care facilities using a group-randomized trial. Based on conservation of resources theory and the work–home resources model, we hypothesized that implementing a work–family intervention aimed at increasing contextual resources via supervisor support for work and family, and employee control over work time, would lead to improved personal resources and increased employee performance on the job in the form of self-reported safety compliance and organizational citizenship behaviors. Multilevel analyses used survey data from 1,524 employees at baseline and at 6-month and 12-month postintervention follow-ups. Significant intervention effects were observed for safety compliance at the 6-month, and organizational citizenship behaviors at the 12-month, follow-ups. More specifically, results demonstrate that the intervention protected against declines in employee self-reported safety compliance and organizational citizenship behaviors compared with employees in the control facilities. The hypothesized mediators of perceptions of family-supportive supervisor behaviors, control over work time, and work–family conflict (work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict) were not significantly improved by the intervention. However, baseline perceptions of family-supportive supervisor behaviors, control over work time, and work–family climate were significant moderators of the intervention effect on the self-reported safety compliance and organizational citizenship behavior outcomes.Keywords: group-randomized trial, family supportive supervisor behavior, organizational citizenship behavior, work-family conflict, safety complianceKeywords: group-randomized trial, family supportive supervisor behavior, organizational citizenship behavior, work-family conflict, safety complianc