Employee Health Promotion

Corporate America is increasingly investing in staff member wellness because it is good business.  In order to meet productivity demands, companies 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 lowered absenteeism, lowered injuries and workman’s compensation costs, lowered health care costs, lowered staff member turnover, in addition to increased productivity, greater staff member satisfaction, and improved morale.1-10

The more recent literature reflects improvements in health promotion programming along with greater return on investment.  In general, the more focused and intensive the health promotion program, the greater benefit realized.

To enhance their effectiveness federal government employee wellness programs could  be able to incorporate some 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 use of tobacco, lack of exercise, 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 health promotion programs also direct efforts towards healthful 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 assessment

Use of a computerized health risk assessment  instrument with individualized feedback and recommendations is nearly universal in successful wellness programs. Workers take the questionnaire each year in many cases.     

The Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) serves to increase awareness, provide direction, and motivate individuals to improve specific behaviors.  In some cases, the personalized report is directly linked to appropriate resources related to identified risks.     

Research indicates that the use of an HRA is effective when it is followed by some type of educational or therapeutic intervention for identified risks.  It often serves as the entry point into wellness programs.   

3   Biometric analysis

A lot of health promotion programs combine the results of the health risk appraisal with measurement of each staff member’s biometrics, including weight and BMI , blood pressure, cholesterol, fasting glucose, and assorted other metrics.     

Combining the results of the HRA with biological measures causes a more exact risk profile.   Computerized health risk appraisals often incorporate biometric data in their risk analysis.   

4   Health Promotion Program Incentives

Workers are frequently given monetary or other meaningful rewards for completing an HRA, participation in a wellness program or class, specific accomplishments like stopping smoking, losing weight, or exercising, and for maintaining healthful status and/or behaviors.     

In many cases the monetary incentives are associated with reductions in health insurance premiums.  Some wellness programs use disincentives in addition to incentives, like charging workers who smoke higher rates for their health insurance contribution.   

5   High wellness program participation rates

Successful wellness programs use incentives to drive participation rates up.  They also market their wellness programs extensively, and may use contest or challenge strategies to heighten enthusiasm and encourage participation.   

6   Health Promotion coaching

Staff Members with identified risks or desire to improve their health habits could  be periodically coached via telephone by trained health Coaches.     

Coaching assists workers set and achieve realistic lifestyle-related objectives including those addressing stress, work life balance, smoking, weight, exercise, and various behavior modifications.     

Three or more sessions are generally offered.  In some intensive wellness programs, the coaching extends to actual disease management (DM) intervention for staff members with identified high-risk diseases.    

7   Multiple formats

Programs may offer wellness content in online, paper, and seminar formats to provide stimulating variety and alternatives to accommodate the needs of all staff members.     

In addition to onsite physical activity and healthy consuming events, on-line wellness programs, e-mail reminders and notices, printed newsletters and materials, and workplace courses and workshops are common dissemination strategies.   

8   Executive management support

Enthusiastic and frequent endorsement by senior management is critical to achieving high rates of participation.  When senior executives are wellness role models themselves the effects of endorsement are enhanced.   

9   Frequent contact

Successful wellness programs have frequent contact of some sort with every employee.  This might  be through marketing 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 employee awareness of wellness opportunities and reinforce the corporate emphasis on wellness through frequent and multiple “touches”.   

10   Open enrollment

To encourage high participation rates workers must’ve easy access to the wellness programs and activities.  Open and uncomplicated enrollment processes achieve this.     

A lot of organizations automatically enroll all staff members and then allow those who don’t wish to participate to “opt-out”.  This practice has been shown to improve enrollment rates in some establishings.   

11   Family involvement

A lot of wellness programs encourage spouses and other family members to participate in the organization wellness activities and to adopt a healthy lifestyle along with the designated employee. It is far easier for the employee to have a healthy lifestyle when his/her family does so as well.   

12   Tobacco use cessation

Because use of tobacco and other use of tobacco is the number one threat to health it is critical to offer personnel effective and convenient assistance with quitting.     

Access to tobacco 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 may  be available as well.     

13   Physical Activity

Regular physical activity is a core component of every wellness program. Employees must be strongly encouraged to engage in regular physical activity.     

Most wellness programs provide either periodic or continuous onsite opportunities, and some locations have onsite gyms, 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 is essential that programs offer effective assistance with weight control. Comprehensive encouragement from senior level management to shed excess weight is important.     

Web-Based wellness programs, worksite programs, or discounted access to weight control programs in the community may all be available.  Long-term follow-up is critical for maintenance of weight loss.   

15   Stress management

Workplace stress is perhaps the most common complaint among staff members and a major contributor to absenteeism, presenteeism (reduced productivity), and low morale.     

   

Nearly all successful wellness programs offer assistance with personal and worksite 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.     

   

Some corporations endeavor to structure the work environment to minimize stress, both physically and operationally.   

16   Medical testings/immunizations

Staff Members are actively encouraged to complete recommended health screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol, Body Mass Index (BMI), colorectal and breast cancer, and others.     

Annual influenza immunizations are also encouraged.  Some sites provide these services at the worksite.  Incentives are often awarded for completion of these screenings/immunizations.    

17   On-Site health care

Actual provision of onsite primary care medical services is a growing trend.  The rapidly escalating costs of medical care insurance for employees has stimulated this trend.     

A number of companies have found that it is less expensive to provide main care services themselves than to fund those services through health insurance.     

On-Site care also lowers the amount of time staff 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 Wellness  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-Evaluation of Company Health Promotion Economic Return Studies –  2005 Update.  The Art of Wellness, July/August, 1-15.

5   Chapman, Larry.   (2006)  Worker Participation in Employee Wellness and Wellness Programs –  Just 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 Corporate Wellness.  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 Health Promotion 15(5) –  341-349.

10   Edington, Dee W.  (2007)   Health Management as a Serious Company Strategy.  Presentation at the World Research Group “Rewarding Healthy Behaviors for Health Plans and Businesss” Conference, Orlando, FL, January 23-24.

11   Pelletier, Barbara, Boles, Myde, and Lunch, Wendy.  (2004)  Changes in Health Risks and Be certain 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 Worksite –  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 Illness.  Report released by the Milken Institute.   www.milkeninstitute.org.

14   Partnership for Prevention.  (2008) Investing in Health –   Proven Health Promotion Practices for Worksites.   http – //www.prevent.org/images/stories/2008/investinginhealth_finalfinal.pdf.