Effective Wellness Programs.

Corporate America is increasingly investing in worker wellness because it’s good company.  In order to meet productivity demands, businesses must rely on a healthy, productive workforce to succeed in the highly competitive global marketplace.  

Over a hundred studies in both corporate and governmental establishings have documented the economic benefits of employee wellness programs, including reduced absenteeism, reduced injuries and workman’s compensation costs, reduced healthcare costs, reduced employee turnover, in addition to increased productivity, greater employee 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 program, the greater benefit realized.  

To enhance their effectiveness federal government employee wellness programs might  be able to incorporate some 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 like use of tobacco, lack of exercise, excess weight, unhealthy diet, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, stress, depression, and so on.     

High-risk staff members are in particular targeted for intervention, although the most successful programs also direct efforts towards healthy staff members for maintain their low-risk status.  This model emphasizes outcomes as opposed to simply offering wellness activities for their own sake.     

2   Health risk (assessment|appraisal}

Use of a computerized health risk (assessment|appraisal}  instrument with individualized feedback and recommendations is almost universal in successful programs.  Employees take the questionnaire yearly in many cases.     

The HRA serves to increase awareness, provide direction, and motivate person 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 if it is followed by some kind 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|appraisal} 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 precise risk profile.   Computerized health risk (assessment|appraisal}s often incorporate biometric data in their risk analysis.   

4   Wellness Program Incentives

Staff Members are frequently given monetary or other significant rewards for completing an HRA, participation in a program or class, specific accomplishments such as stopping smoking, losing weight, or exercising, and for maintaining healthy status and/or behaviors.     

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

5   High wellness program participation rates

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

6   Wellness coaching

Employees with identified risks or desire to improve their health habits could  be periodically coached via telephone by trained health coaches.     

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

Three or more sessions are usually offered.  In some intensive programs, the coaching extends to actual disease management (DM) 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 members.     

In addition to on-site physical activity and healthy eating events, on-line programs, e-mail reminders and notices, printed newsletters and materials, and workplace classes and seminars are common dissemination strategies.   

8   Upper management support

Enthusiastic and frequent endorsement by  senior level 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 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 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’ve easy access to the wellness programs and activities.  Open and uncomplicated enrollment processes achieve this.     

Some companies automatically enroll all employees and then allow those who don’t wish to participate to “opt-out”.  This practice has been proven to boost enrollment rates in some establishings.   

11   Family involvement

Many programs encourage spouses and other family members to participate in the business 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 if his/her family does so as well.   

12   Tobacco use cessation

Because smoking and other smoking is the number one threat to health it’s crucial to offer employees effective and convenient assistance with quitting.     

Access to tobacco cessation pharmaceuticals is often part of such programs.  In-house programs provide the most convenient access to these services, although on-line or telephone-based programs might  be available as well.     

13   Exercise

Regular exercise is a core component of every wellness program.  Workers should be strongly encouraged to engage in regular exercise.     

Most programs provide either periodic or continuous onsite opportunities, and some locations have onsite fitness centers, swimming pools, walking trails, etc.  Discounted or paid 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 imperative that programs offer effective assistance with weight control.  Extensive encouragement from  upper-level management to shed excess weight is important.     

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

15   Stress management

Workplace stress is perhaps the most common complaint among workers and a major contributor to absenteeism, presenteeism (reduced productivity), and low morale.     
   
Nearly all successful wellness programs offer assistance with personal and workplace stress.  Some programs refer employees to outside resources for additional serious conditions like depression and anxiety disorders, but most offer online or frequent onsite general stress reduction programs.     
   
Some corporations endeavor to structure the work environment to minimize stress, both physically and operationally.   

16   Health screenings/immunizations

Workers are actively encouraged to complete advised biometric screenings 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 worksite.  Incentives are often awarded for completion of these screenings/immunizations.    

17   Onsite health care

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

Some businesses have found that it’s less expensive to provide primary care services themselves than to fund those services through medical insurance.     

Onsite care also lowers the amount of time employees would otherwise spend away from the worksite getting such services.    

References   

1   Aldana, Steven G.  (2001)   Financial Impact of Wellness Programs –   A Robust Review of the Literature.   Am J Wellness 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-Investigation of Corporate Wellness Economic Return Studies –  2005 Update.  The Art of Wellness, July/August, 1-15.

5   Chapman, Larry.   (2006)   Worker Participation in Corporate Wellness and Wellness Programs –   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 Wellness Coaching in Corporate Wellness.   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 Healthful 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 Business Strategy.  Presentation at the World Research Group “Rewarding Healthy Behaviors for Health Plans and Employers” 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 robust 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 Disease.  Report released by the Milken Institute.   www.milkeninstitute.org.

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