Employee Health Promotion

Health screenings are important programs to identify chronic conditions in
their early stages. Once identified, wellness behavior modification programs
can help prevent a disease from progressing. Working with local hospitals and
other organizations, you can obtain information on offering evaluation and behavior
modification programs that might improve your employees’ health and save
your organization money in absenteeism, treatment for disease complications,
and reduced work rate. Below are some ideas to assist you in getting started.

Based upon your Employee Needs & Interest Survey and the demographics
of your workplace, consider offering periodic screenings to find specific health
risks such as:

• Blood Pressure (BP) Checks to identify employees with pre-hypertension
  or hypertension (high blood pressure),
• Cholesterol Screenings for total, HDL (good cholesterol), LDL (bad cholesterol)
  and/or Triglycerides
• Blood Sugar Screenings fasting or non-fasting to screen for possible diabetes,
• Body composition, such as body mass index (BMI) or body fat measures
• Bone density for potential risk of osteoporosis,
• Cancer screenings such as, skin examinations, mammograms, or PSA screenings,
• Vision checks for glaucoma, or visual acuity
• Other health screenings depending on your worker population and needs

Your local hospital, organization physician practice, or health department
may offer assistance. However, if you have employees you may want to concentrate
on programs that will keep them healthy instead of screening for early identification
of chronic conditions. The focus of your wellness program might be healthy lifestyle
practices to reduce risk and prevent disease.

In addition to the health screenings, consider offering a Health Risk Appraisal
/ Health Risk Assessment to all employees. The Health Risk Appraisal / Health
Risk Assessment will help to identify factors that may lead to additional risks,
such as smoking history, stress levels, image of health, family history, job
satisfaction, support systems, and mental health. Often the evaluation results
are included on the Health Risk Appraisal / Health Risk Assessment, which supplies
a more accross the board snap shot of health risks. The summary results offer
the important information to plan appropriate interventions.

Employee Health Promotion Interventions

The key to the effectiveness of screenings and Health Risk Appraisals / Health
Risk Assessments is the interventions or follow-up programs. The information
from the screenings increases awareness and often motivates employees to consider
making healthier changes. It’s the follow up interventions that offer
the essential support and assistance required for employees to actually make
and maintain those changes. The interventions can include individual follow-up
and ongoing counseling, individual or group health coaching on the risk factors,
behavior modification programs, and/or organization support. Examples include:

• Strategies to decrease Blood Pressure (BP)
• Managing diabetes
• Taking care of your heart
• Healthier eating
• Weight loss ideas
• Growing physical exercise
• Tobacco Cessation

Of course, this is for individual information only. Any follow-up interventions
planned by the organization would be based on interest expressed by the employee.

Based on the outcome and your Employee Health Promotion Committee goals/objectives
you can plan the best strategies for your organization and employees. Consider
the neighborhood resources available to offer services, such as health associations,
hospitals, health care providers, and/or public health agencies.

There are many benefits to thinking of a part-time or full-time occupational
and environmental health nurse (OHN). Occupational health nursing is the specialty
practice that supplies for and delivers health and safety programs and services
to employees, and worker populations. The practice focuses on promotion and
restoration of health, prevention of illness and injury, treatment of work and
non-work related injuries and illnesses, and protection from work related and
environmental hazards.

Onsite Heath Professional roles can include: Case management, Counseling, Employee
Health Promotion , Legal and regulatory compliance, Clinical services, and Hazard
detection and controls. The American Association of Occupational and Environmental
Health Nurses is the national association, www.AAOHN.org. The State Chapter
also has a website with information including local chapter information to help
you find a contact near you, www.NCAOHN.org.

Health educators can design, conduct and evaluate activities that help improve
the health of all your employees. They are subject matter experts who may be
a important asset regardless your program needs and goals/objectives. They can
help form a Employee Health Promotion Committee and enable many of its programs
and services, for example or depending on the structure and time commitments
of your Employee Health Promotion Committee, they can also coordinate the entire
program as well. Integrating the activities of the Committee and/or Employee
Health Promotion consultant services within your operations, including within
your safety and occupational health program will offer additional benefits!