In recognition of the late Karina Nielsen, this special symposium in her honour is being made open to anybody to join in online to remember and recognise the impact that Karina’s work is still having on colleagues and the wider field. Karina’s obituary is available here.

This symposium examines the continuing influence of multi-level intervention frameworks and realist evaluation methodologies in occupational health psychology, building on foundational research established by Professor Karina Nielsen. Her work fundamentally shifted intervention research beyond the traditional “what works?” question to examine what works for whom, in which circumstances, and through what mechanisms. This realist evaluation approach recognises that interventions are complex events whose success depends on contextual factors and underlying mechanisms that activate change. Her development of the IGLOO model (Individual, Group, Leader, Organisation, Overarching context) provided a systematic approach to designing and evaluating interventions, proving especially influential in sustainable return-to-work research where it guides understanding of how resources at multiple organisational levels support employee wellbeing and maintaining long-term work participation. These methodologies transformed how researchers design, implement, and evaluate workplace interventions, advancing understanding not just of whether interventions work, but crucially, how, why, for whom, and in what circumstances they produce effects on employee wellbeing. Collectively, these presentations illustrate the enduring value of theory-driven, intervention research. They exemplify the power of moving beyond simple outcome evaluation to understand mechanisms and contexts determining intervention success, whilst maintaining solid commitment to research that provides actionable insights for improving employee wellbeing. This symposium thus demonstrates how these foundational frameworks continue to inspire and guide intervention research and practice in occupational health psychology.

The four presentations demonstrate how these frameworks continue to generate new research directions. The first presentation by Løkling and colleagues extends realist evaluation’s focus on mechanisms by applying Conservation of Resources theory to understand conflict evolution during organisational interventions, examining how resource and risk caravans shape conflict trajectories and thereby advancing understanding of the dynamic processes through which interventions produce change. The second presentation by Abildgaard and colleagues applies realist evaluation methodology to an innovative intervention context, a serious-game simulation for change leadership, investigating how, why, and for whom change management training influences leader competencies and employee outcomes, thus extending the methodology’s application to technology-enabled leadership development. The third presentation by Can and colleagues extends the IGLOO framework into the sustainable return-to-work domain, systematically examining which multi-level resources facilitate long-term return-to-work outcomes for individuals with common mental disorders, demonstrating the framework’s applicability beyond primary prevention to tertiary interventions. The fourth presentation by Topakas and colleagues offers a theoretical extension by conceptualising POWIs as sensemaking infrastructures, advancing five propositions that link collective prospective sensemaking and organisational memory to the development of enduring organisational change capability.

Chairs: Cris Vasquez and Christine Ipsen

More information can be found here.