Research Services Validation Study of Occupational Stress Injury Resiliency Tool
In response to a need to better understand and support mental health among first responders, PSHSA partnered with The Conference Board of Canada to develop the Occupational Stress Injury Resiliency (OSIR) tool, a purpose-built and practical organizational assessment* to understand risks for occupational stress injuries (OSI), identify preventative approaches in support of building resilience, and guide workplace mental health strategies and action plans.
Phase One of this project took place from 2019 to 2021 and findings from this work were detailed in the Issue Briefing (available for free download) published by The Conference Board of Canada (Florko, Lauren, Tabatha Thibault, and Erin Mills. Assessing the Risk: The Occupational Stress Injury Resiliency Tool. Ottawa: The Conference Board of Canada, 2021). Overall, psychometric analysis supported the OSIR tool as having preliminary evidence for its reliability and validity. Proponents are encouraged to review the Issue Briefing in detail for context and further understanding of the work that was undertaken. The published research provided proof of concept for the utility of the OSIR tool for detecting a connection between OSI and resilience and revealed four factors that can collectively highlight vulnerability to an OSI: support programs, organizational environment, supportive leadership, and employee behaviours.
Phase Two of this project took place from 2022 to 2023 where the tool was piloted at workplaces to test its functionality and applicability outside of public safety settings. Results from this phase were informative and demonstrated the real-world application of the tool, its relevance across different industries and sectors, and its value as a novel and unique measure that leads to actionable findings. Collectively, the OSIR tool was used by 650 Ontarian workers across two large employers during this phase.
*Note that the OSIR tool is an organizational assessment that is intended for employers to gauge the overall resiliency of their workforce and not for assessing individual employees. The OSIR tool is not a diagnostic tool, nor is it intended to screen people during a selection process.
3.2 Scope of Work
PSHSA is seeking proposals from Proponents to support the next phase of research with the objectives to review and identify where improvements can be made to the current OSIR tool and further validate to assess predictability and build into a statistically valid index.
The next phase of research can be organized broadly in two stages and may include the following key components:
StagesKey Components
- Review of current OSIR tool and data
- Review available data and work undertaken to date to identify where improvements can be made to strengthen psychometric properties of the current tool.
- Report comprehensive evaluation of the psychometric properties and undergo peer-review.
- Synthesis of the results in a final report.
- Publication of the research findings.
- Research design and implementation
- Design of longitudinal study to assess predictability and generalizability of the tool.
- Inclusion of steps for developing the tool into a statistically valid index.
- Inclusion of steps to measure impact and outcomes.
- Application of research ethics approval if required.
- Recruitment of participants and collection of data.
- Statistical analyses and interpretation of results.
- Synthesis of the results in a final report.
- Publication of the research findings.
PSHSA reserves the right to reevaluate whether it will proceed with subsequent stages at the completion of each stage and which components it will undertake based on mutual agreement with the Proponent.
Note that PSHSA will contribute to stakeholder engagement, recruitment for research participants, and communications supports, including translation, editing and design for public-facing content where applicable. The PSHSA will retain the intellectual property rights of the final report(s) and tool. Co-branding and shared knowledge translation opportunities may be available.
PSHSA intends to integrate the findings of this research into our offerings and use the OSIR tool to help organizations and employers understand and manage risks related to psychological health and safety and workplace wellbeing, inform actionable plans for prevention, and improve mental health outcomes for workers.
