Effective Health Promotion Programs.
Corporate America is increasingly investing in worker wellness because it’s good corporation. In order to meet productivity demands, corporations must rely on a healthful, productive workforce to succeed in the highly competitive global marketplace.
Over a hundred studies in both corporate and governmental establishings have documented the economic advantages of staff member health promotion programs, including reduced absenteeism, reduced injuries and workman’s compensation costs, reduced health care costs, reduced staff member turnover, as well as increased productivity, greater staff member satisfaction, and improved morale.1-10
The more recent literature reflects improvements in wellness programming along with greater return on investment. In general, the more focused and intensive the wellness program, the greater benefit realized.
To enhance their effectiveness federal government worker wellness programs could be able to incorporate some of the features described. Staff Member wellness programs shown to have positive returns on investment often include the following features –
1 Health and productivity management model
Programs characterized by this model focus attention on identification and reduction of specific risks or behaviors like smoking, lack of physical activity, excess weight, unhealthy diet, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, stress, depression, and so on.
High-risk staff are especially targeted for intervention, although the most successful wellness programs also direct efforts towards healthy staff in order to maintain their low-risk status. This model emphasizes outcomes as opposed to simply offering wellness activities for their own sake.
2 Health risk appraisal
Use of a computerized health risk appraisal instrument with individualized feedback and recommendations is almost universal in successful wellness programs. Employees take the questionnaire annually in many cases.
The Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) serves to raise awareness, provide direction, and motivate individuals to improve specific behaviors. In some cases, the customized report is directly linked to appropriate resources related to identified risks.
Research indicates that the use of an Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) is effective if it is followed by some kind of educational or therapeutic intervention for identified risks. It often serves as the entry point into health promotion programs.
3 Biometric analysis
A lot of wellness programs combine the results of the health risk assessment with measurement of each employee’s biometrics, including weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) , blood pressure, cholesterol, fasting glucose, and assorted other metrics.
Combining the results of the HRA with biological measures causes a more valid risk profile. Computerized health risk appraisals often incorporate biometric data in their risk analysis.
4 Wellness Program Incentives
Employees are frequently given monetary or other meaningful rewards for completing an HRA, participation in a wellness program or class, specific accomplishments such as stopping tobacco use, losing weight, or exercising, and for maintaining healthful status and/or behaviors.
In many cases the monetary incentives are associated with reductions in medical insurance premiums. Some wellness programs use disincentives as well as incentives, such as charging workers who smoke higher rates for their medical insurance contribution.
5 High wellness program participation rates
Successful health promotion programs use incentives to drive participation rates up. They also market their health promotion programs robustly, and may use contest or challenge strategies to heighten enthusiasm and encourage participation.
6 Health Promotion coaching
Workers with identified risks or desire to improve their health habits might be periodically coached via telephone by trained health Coaches.
Coaching helps workforce set and achieve realistic lifestyle-related goals including those addressing stress, work life balance, use of tobacco, weight, physical activity, and various behavior modifications.
Three or more sessions are typically offered. In some intensive health promotion programs, the coaching extends to actual disease management intervention for workers with identified high-risk diseases.
7 Multiple formats
Programs might offer wellness content in online, paper, and seminar formats to provide stimulating variety and alternatives to accommodate the needs of all staff.
In addition to onsite exercise and healthy eating events, on-line wellness programs, e-mail reminders and notices, printed newsletters and materials, and worksite classes and seminars are common dissemination strategies.
8 Upper management support
Enthusiastic and frequent endorsement by executive management is crucial to achieving high rates of participation. When senior executives are wellness role models themselves the effects of endorsement are enhanced.
9 Frequent contact
Successful health promotion programs have frequent contact of some sort with every employee. This could be through marketing and advertising efforts (e.g., posters, e-mail notices, reminders, or messages, etc.), bulletin boards, newsletters, staff meeting presentations, discussion in new employee orientation, supervisory sessions, etc.
The key is to enhance staff member awareness of wellness opportunities and reinforce the corporate emphasis on wellness through frequent and multiple “touches”.
10 Open enrollment
To encourage high participation rates staff must’ve easy access to the wellness programs and activities. Open and uncomplicated enrollment processes achieve this.
Many corporations automatically enroll all staff members and then allow those who do not wish to participate to “opt-out”. This practice has been shown to boost enrollment rates in some settings.
11 Family involvement
Many health promotion programs encourage spouses and other family members to take part in the company wellness activities and to adopt a healthful lifestyle along with the designated staff member. It’s far easier for the staff member to have a healthful lifestyle when his/her family does so as well.
12 Use of tobacco cessation
Because use of tobacco and other use of tobacco is the number one threat to health it’s crucial to offer personnel effective and convenient assistance with quitting.
Access to smoking cessation pharmaceuticals is often part of such health promotion programs. In-house health promotion programs provide the most convenient access to these services, although on-line or telephone-based health promotion programs could be available as well.
13 Physical Activity
Regular physical activity is a core component of every wellness program. Staff Members ought to be strongly encouraged to engage in regular physical activity.
Most health promotion programs provide either periodic or continuous onsite opportunities, and some locations have onsite fitness centers, swimming pools, walking trails, etc. Discounted or compensated memberships to community exercise facilities is a common alternative to onsite facilities.
14 Weight management
Because obesity is a major threat to health it’s crucial that programs offer effective assistance with weight control. Robust encouragement from upper management to shed excess weight is important.
Web-Based wellness programs, workplace programs, or discounted access to weight control programs in the community may all be available. Long-term follow-up is crucial for maintenance of weight reduction.
15 Stress management
Workplace stress is perhaps the most common complaint among workforce and a major contributor to absenteeism, presenteeism (reduced productivity), and low morale.
Almost all successful wellness programs offer assistance with personal and workplace stress. Some programs refer employees to outside resources for more serious conditions like depression and anxiety disorders, but most offer online or frequent on-site general stress reduction programs.
Many companies endeavor to structure the work environment to minimize stress, both physically and operationally.
16 Health screenings/immunizations
Workers are actively encouraged to complete recommended biometric testings for blood pressure, cholesterol, Body Mass Index, colorectal and breast cancer, and others.
Annual influenza immunizations are also encouraged. Some sites provide these services at the workplace. Incentives are often awarded for completion of these screenings/immunizations.
17 On-Site health care
Actual provision of onsite main care medical services is a growing trend. The rapidly escalating costs of medical care insurance for workforce has stimulated this trend.
Some corporations have found that it’s less expensive to provide main care services themselves than to fund those services through health insurance.
On-Site care also reduces the amount of time workers would otherwise spend away from the workplace getting such services.
References
1 Aldana, Steven G. (2001) Financial Impact of Health Promotion Programs – A Robust Review of the Literature. Am J Health Promotion 15(5) – 296-320.
2 Chapman, Larry. (1998) the Role of Incentives in Wellness. The Art of Health Promotion 2(3) – 1-8.
3 Chapman, Larry. (2003) Biometric Screening in Wellness – is it Really as Important as We Think? the Art of Wellness 7(2) – 1-12.
4 Chapman, Larry. (2005) Meta-Analysis of Company Wellness Economic Return Studies – 2005 Update. The Art of Wellness, July/August, 1-15.
5 Chapman, Larry. (2006) Worker Participation in Company Wellness and Wellness Programs – Precisely how Important are Incentives, and Which Ones work Best? North Carolina Medical Journal 67(6) – 431-432.
6 Chapman, Larry, Lesch, Nancy, and Passas Baun, Mary Beth. (2007) the Role of Health Promotion Coaching in Employee Health Promotion. the Art of Wellness, July/August, 1-12.
7 Chapman, Larry. (2007) Proof Positive – an Analysis of the cost-Effectiveness of Employee Health Promotion. Northwest Health Management Publishing, Seattle, WA.
8 Chapman, Larry. (2007) an In-Depth Look at the Economic Evidence for Rewarding Health Behavior Change. Workshop presentation at the World Research Group “Rewarding Healthy Behaviors for Health Plans and Corporations” Conference, Orlando, FL, January 23-24.
9 Edington, Dee. (2001) Emerging Research – A View from One Research Center. American Journal of Wellness 15(5) – 341-349.
10 Edington, Dee W. (2007) Health Management as a Serious Company Strategy. Presentation at the World Research Group “Rewarding Healthful Behaviors for Health Plans and Corporations” Conference, Orlando, FL, January 23-24.
11 Pelletier, Barbara, Boles, Myde, and Lunch, Wendy. (2004) Changes in Health Risks and Make sure to work Productivity. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 46(7) – 746-754.
12 Pelletier, Kenneth R. (2005) A Review and Analysis of the Clinical and Cost-Effectiveness Studies of extensive Health and Illness Management (DM)Programs at the Workplace – Update VI 2000-2004. JOEM 47(10)1051-1058.
13 DeVol, Ross, Bedroussian, Armen, et. Al. (2007) an Unhealthy America – the Economic Burden of Chronic Condition. Report released by the Milken Institute. www.milkeninstitute.org.
14 Partnership for Prevention. (2008) Investing in Health – Proven Wellness Practices for Worksites. http – //www.prevent.org/images/stories/2008/investinginhealth_finalfinal.pdf.