Impacts of a Knowledge Mobilization Campaign for Carer-Inclusive Workplace Tools in Canada: Knowledge-to-Action Design Study

Background: Coupled with an aging population and lower fertility rates, there is a growing number of carer-employees (CEs), those balancing unpaid care with paid employment. Over 5.2 million Canadians are CEs juggling this dual role, often incurring negative impacts to their mental and physical health as a result. Given that unpaid care makes up 75% of care provided in Canada, the economic importance of supporting CEs extends to sustaining health care systems. Supporting and accommodating CEs in the workplace has not only been proved to be beneficial to the well-being of CEs but also to the organization through increased productivity and lower turnover rates. Despite the clear advantages of implementing carer-inclusive workplace practices (CIWPs) in the workplace, many organizations across Canada remain largely unsupportive of CE accommodations. The present study evaluated the impact of a knowledge mobilization (KMb) campaign. Objective: The primary objective of the 2-phased campaign was to raise awareness of CIWPs in Canada and increase the uptake of various tools designed to support the implementation of CIWPs. Phase 1 published 4 articles in leading national industry magazines geared toward the target audiences; Phase 2 entailed a webinar series based around Phase 1. Methods: This study uses a quantitative methodology using data collected primarily through the various magazine article publishing companies, as well as project partner McMaster Continuing Education. Engagement metrics and analytics associated with each KMb activity were collected through social media platforms and website analytics. Tracking engagement metrics, such as views, unique views, social media impressions, social media clicks, registrations, and attendees, was used to evaluate the impact of the campaign. Results: The collected engagement metrics and analytics were analyzed to evaluate the campaign activities' impact on increasing the engagement with and uptake of specific tools. Phase 1 activities brought in a total of 36,308 views (mean 9077, SD 17,336), 2469 unique views (mean 617, SD 548), 55,445 social media impressions (mean 13,861, SD 19,424), and 432 social media clicks (mean 108, SD 101) across all 4 articles. The most successful activity was Article 3, pitched toward the small- to medium-sized business audience. Phase 2 was successful in engaging the target audiences with the campaign materials to further promote and disseminate the tools. Webinar attendance rates varied across sessions (22.1%-30.6%) with overlapping 95% CIs. Noticeable increases in engagement with the CIWP tools are observed during the months when Articles 3 and 4 were published. Conclusions: Results of the campaign suggest that published magazine articles targeted to the respective audiences are the most effective method of knowledge mobilization for this work, recognizing that paid activities had greater reach and better resources for dissemination. Future research in this area should focus on engaging with employers and professional stakeholders more directly.