Wellness Programs : Effective Wellness Programs.
Corporate America is increasingly investing in staff member wellness because it’s good corporation. 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 settings have documented the economic advantages of worker health promotion programs, including reduced absenteeism, reduced injuries and workman’s compensation costs, reduced healthcare costs, reduced worker turnover, in addition to increased productivity, greater worker 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 staff member wellness programs might be able to incorporate some of the features described. Employee 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 such as use of tobacco, lack of physical activity, excess weight, unhealthful diet, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, stress, depression, and so on.
High-risk employees are specifically targeted for intervention, although the most successful wellness programs also direct efforts towards healthful employees 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. Employees take the questionnaire each year in many cases.
The Health Risk Assessment (HRA) serves to elevate awareness, provide direction, and motivate person 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 Assessment (HRA) is effective if 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 wellness programs combine the results of the health risk assessment with measurement of each staff member’s biometrics, including weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) , blood pressure, cholesterol, fasting glucose, and assorted other metrics.
Combining the results of the Health Risk Assessment (HRA) with biological measures results in a more valid risk profile. Computerized health risk assessments often incorporate biometric data in their risk analysis.
4 Health Promotion Program Incentives
Staff Members are frequently given monetary or other significant 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 health insurance premiums. Some health promotion programs use disincentives as well as incentives, such as charging employees who smoke higher rates for their health 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 comprehensively, and may use contest or challenge strategies to heighten enthusiasm and encourage participation.
6 Wellness coaching
Staff Members with identified risks or desire to improve their health habits might be periodically coached via telephone by trained health Coaches.
Coaching helps staff members 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 ordinarily offered. In some intensive wellness programs, the coaching extends to actual disease management intervention for personnel 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 members.
In addition to onsite physical activity and healthful eating events, on-line health promotion programs, e-mail reminders and notices, printed newsletters and materials, and workplace classes and seminars are common dissemination strategies.
8 Senior management support
Enthusiastic and frequent endorsement by senior level management is vital 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 staff member. This might be through advertising efforts (e.g., posters, e-mail notices, reminders, or messages, etc.), bulletin boards, newsletters, staff meeting presentations, discussion in new staff member orientation, supervisory sessions, etc.
The key is to enhance worker awareness of wellness opportunities and reinforce the corporate emphasis on wellness through frequent and multiple “touches”.
10 Open enrollment
To encourage high participation rates employees must have easy access to the wellness programs and activities. Open and uncomplicated enrollment processes achieve this.
Some corporations automatically enroll all workers and then allow those who don’t wish to participate to “opt-out”. This practice has been shown to increase enrollment rates in some settings.
11 Family involvement
A lot of wellness programs encourage spouses and other family members to participate in the business wellness activities and to adopt a healthy lifestyle along with the designated staff member. It is far easier for the staff member to have a healthy lifestyle when his/her family does so as well.
12 Smoking cessation
Because smoking and other smoking is the number one threat to health it’s vital to offer workforce 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 may be available as well.
13 Physical Activity
Regular exercise is a core component of every health promotion program. Staff Members should be strongly encouraged to engage in regular exercise.
Most health promotion programs provide either periodic or continuous on-site opportunities, and some locations have on-site fitness centers, swimming pools, walking trails, etc. Discounted or compensated memberships to community exercise facilities is a common alternative to on-site facilities.
14 Weight management
Because obesity is a major threat to health it is imperative that programs offer effective assistance with weight control. Comprehensive encouragement from senior level management to shed excess weight is important.
Web-Based health promotion 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 personnel and a major contributor to absenteeism, presenteeism (reduced productivity), and low morale.
Nearly all successful health promotion programs offer assistance with personal and workplace stress. Some programs refer staff to outside resources for more serious conditions like depression and anxiety disorders, but most offer online or frequent onsite general stress reduction programs.
Some companies endeavor to structure the work environment to minimize stress, both physically and operationally.
16 Health testings/immunizations
Workers are actively encouraged to complete recommended biometric testings 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 Onsite health care
Actual provision of on-site primary care medical services is a growing trend. The quickly escalating costs of medical care insurance for employees has stimulated this trend.
Some organizations have found that it is less costly to provide primary care services themselves than to fund those services through medical insurance.
On-Site care also decreases the amount of time personnel would otherwise spend away from the worksite getting such services.
References
1 Aldana, Steven G. (2001) Financial Impact of Wellness Programs – A Extensive Review of the Literature. Am J Wellness 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-Examination of Employee Wellness Economic Return Studies – 2005 Update. The Art of Wellness, July/August, 1-15.
5 Chapman, Larry. (2006) Staff Member Participation in Employee Wellness and Wellness Programs – Exactly 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 Wellness. the Art of Wellness, July/August, 1-12.
7 Chapman, Larry. (2007) Proof Positive – an Analysis of the cost-Effectiveness of Employee 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 Businesss” 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 Businesss” Conference, Orlando, FL, January 23-24.
11 Pelletier, Barbara, Boles, Myde, and Lunch, Wendy. (2004) Changes in Health Risks and Make 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 Disease Management (DM)Programs at the Workplace – Update VI 2000-2004. JOEM 47(10)1051-1058.
13 DeVol, Ross, Bedroussian, Armen, et. Al. (2007) an Unhealthful America – the Economic Burden of Chronic Disease. 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.